Church Street blast: Tweet claiming responsibility turns out to be a hoax
Bengaluru, Dec 28: An IED explosion occurred outside the Coconut Grove restaurant at Church Street, Bengaluru on Sunday night. One woman who was seriously injured in the blast died in the hospital later.
[Bengaluru blast: Was it Mehdi or SIMI?]
[IISc and Church Street attack on December 28: Just a coincidence]
Here are the live updates of the development after the blast:
11:30 pm: NIA's five member team will continue to assist the Bangalore police in the probe. So far the state government has not sought for an NIA probe and says that the Bangalore police will handle the case.
However, the state government says it will not interfere with the NIA as it is needed to coordinate between states.
11:15 pm: The tweet earlier today claiming responsibility for the Church Street blast turned out to be a hoax.
DCP crime Abishek Goyal said that it was a 17 year old disturbed boy who sent out the tweets. We are speaking to him and his parents Goyal also said. The handle has been suspended.
9:30 pm: Even as the Bangalore up the ante to nab Shaikh Mahmood the SIMI operative a team of the Tamil Nadu and the Andhra Pradesh have visited Church Street and taken stock of the situation.
This is more of a coordination and information sharing exercise. Apart from the TN and AP police a five member NIA team and also the central intelligence bureau inspected the blast site.
7.30 pm: The Madhya Pradesh ATS has sent the latest pictures of SIMI operative Shaikh Mehboob on the request by the Bangalore police. The Bangalore police had sought the latest photographs to verify his role in the Church Street blasts.
Mehboob was one of the operatives who had broken away from the Khandwa jail. He had also taken part in the Bijnor blast.
7.20 pm: The probe agencies say that they are getting vital information from both the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh ATS in connection with the Church Street blast case. Officers associated with the probe say that even the NIA is working on the case and some leads have emerged which would be vital to the investigations.
7.10 pm: The wannabe tweeter who claimed responsibility for the Church Street attack is now missing on Twitter as his handle has been suspended.
7.00 pm: In the midst of all the chaos and investigations, a person has taken to Twitter to claim responsibility for the Church Street blast. A wannabe tweeter by nature, he says that he is the one who planted the bomb and he dares the police to nab him.
6.30 pm: 2 CCTV images from the Bengaluru police:
6.15 pm: The Karnataka government has proposed the following steps to counter terror in the state:
- Separate intelligence information cadre that will collate intelligence bureau alerts.
- 40 software engineers to be inducted in order to fight cyber crime.
- When there is a gathering of 100 or more people, establishments will provide access controls and install closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras.
5.30 pm: The Police have sourced the footage from 11 CCTV cameras and are examining it. The police suspect that the culprits may have visited the spot once in the afternoon and then returned at around 7.30 pm and planted the bomb.
5.05 pm: A reward of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for any information regarding the suspects in the Church Street Blast.
4.45 pm: The National Investigating Agency officials who visited Bangalore earlier today drew a similarity between the blasts at Pune and Chennai.
"The modus operandi and the type of materials used are very similar to the ones in Chennai and Pune", an officer informed.
Both the Pune and the Chennai blasts were attributed to the SIMI and the intent was similar the NIA says. For the want of an expert bomb maker the SIMI has been piecing together low intensity bombs which are meant to scare.
Moreover, carrying a low intensity bomb with lesser material is easier to smuggle in and plant as it draws very little attention, the officer also informed.
4.30 pm: A vital piece of information that could have been obtained from the security guard outside the Coconut Grove on Church Street is missing since he was not present at the spot when the bomb had been planted.
The Bangalore police had questioned the security guard for two hours before releasing him. He told the cops that he was not present at the time the bomb was planted since he was at the cigarette shop at that time.
[Why the SIMI link to Bengaluru makes more sense?]
3:30 pm: A team is coordinating with the Maharashtra ATS and the also the Madhya Pradesh ATS to get more information on the SIMI. There is a great deal of similarity between the attack in Pune and the one at Church street, police sources say. Moreover the SIMI has built up a good network in Bangalore as well, sources also point out.
2:33
pm:
The
police
suspect
that
the
bomb
was
prepared
in
the
outskirts
of
city
and
brought
in
before
it
was
planted
at
Church
Street.
The
police
believe
that
the
suspects
may
have
not
gone
too
far
away
and
have
sent
teams
to
Kolar
and
Tumkur
apart
from
Chennai
as
well.
The
primary
focus
at
the
moment
continues
to
be
on
the
Al-Ummah,
which
had
carried
out
the
blast
outside
the
BJP
office
at
Malleshwaram
last
year.
1:49
pm:
Lead
investigator
and
additional
commissioner
of
Police,
Alok
Kumar
said
that
teams
are
being
sent
to
various
states
to
collect
information.
He
says
that
all
angles
are
being
explored
and
details
are
being
collected
by
the
forensics
team
as
well.
We
are
also
analysing
the
CCTV
footage
for
more
clues.
It
may
take
a
while
more
to
get
the
correct
picture
but
we
are
on
the
job
and
are
hopeful
of
cracking
the
case
soon.
There
was
intelligence
but
nothing
specific
he
also
added.
12:46 pm: Video footage of four people suspiciously moving close to the restaurant has been revealed. These people were seen wandering aimlessly 45 minutes before the blast; The police say they have ample footage. "There are many cameras on Church Street. The only camera that was not working was the one in the hotel. "The camera facing the road was not working," the police said.
12:18 pm: The police have zeroed in on the Al-Ummah-the same group, which carried out the BJP office blast in Malleshwaram. A team of the Bangalore police has left for Tamil Nadu to probe the matter further.
12:08 pm: "Bangalore has been attacked several times in the past. We have enhanced security. We are coordinating with the central agencies," said Home minister Rajnath Singh. He has assured of all support.
"A central IB team is also giving us information. We have discussed more methods on strengthening security. The high level meeting with police officials decided on how to enhance security further. CCTV cameras in all crowded places will be made mandatory," said Rajnath Singh.
From the Vidhan Soudha in the five kilometre radius security will be enhanced.
12:07
pm:
Injured
are
out
of
danger.
The
post
mortem
will
be
conducted
on
Bhavani
the
deceased
and
body
will
be
sent
to
Tamil
Nadu
"We
have
announced
Rs
5
lakh
compensation
to
the
family
of
deceased.
Injured
will
be
treated
at
State
Government
cost,"
said
CM
Siddaramaiah.
12:00 pm: The bomb was planted among the plants. The inquiry is on.
10:45 am: The police is coordinating with their counterparts in Warangal after a mobile number was found on the newspaper in which the bomb was wrapped. The bomb was first wrapped in a cloth and then a newspaper to cover it.
Although the accused would not write his mobile number down, the police are still verifying the same.
10:40 am: There was no pipe in the bomb. The exact composition of the bomb was Ammonium Nitrate, Gelatine sticks, a battery timer, cloth and a newspaper.
10:39 am: The state government is still deciding on whether to hand over the Church Street Blast probe to the NIA. The Bengaluru police team says that they are capable of handling the investigations and have requested the Chief Minister and Home Minister to continue with the probe. However they have also assured that they would seek the help of the NIA too.
10:27 am: Local Dailies believe that the victim could have been saved had people given way to the auto that carried her. Surprisingly, no ambulance came to help.
9:40 am: The police have formed several teams to probe the Church Street blasts. The teams being headed by Additional Commissioner of Police, Alok Kumar will work on the case. The team will submit its preliminary finding later today.
9:30 am: The exact time of the bomb blast last night was 8.38 pm. The bomb was packed tightly into a cloth and then wrapped into a Telugu newspaper and was timed to 8.38 pm. A team of the forensic investigators are at the spot searching for more clues.
9:22 am: Two intelligence alerts were given to the Bangalore police in the past 20 days. The first alert was following the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas. The second alert was from the central agencies about five SIMI men making an attempt to target cities in India.
9:03 am: A team of the National Investigating Agency will arrive in Bangalore shortly to look into the incident. An officer with the NIA had told oneindia last night that a team would be looking into the incident. Although there is no official directive from the government for an NIA probe, the charter of the agency says that it can suo motu probe into the matter.
8:40 am: Chief Minister of Karnataka and the Home Minister will convene a high level meeting at 10 am today to take stock of the situation in the wake of the Church Street blasts.
The meeting would involve the top officials of the police department and also officers of the state intelligence bureau. The meeting is aimed at discussing the further course of the probe. During the meeting the officials would also discuss why the specific intelligence given to the police had not been acted upon.
8:25 am: The Bangalore police has collected the information gathered from the mobile towers at Church Street and the surrounding areas to trace the phones that were active at the time of the blast.
This would help the police gather information on the possible calls made by the bomber/bombers.
8:10 am: The bomb which exploded at Church Street last night was covered in a Telugu newspaper, preliminary investigations have revealed. Further, it has also been found that the bomb was attached to a battery timer and was packed with shrapnel. The police are also exploring the traces of ammonium nitrate found in the bomb, which had created an nine inch crater in the ground after the explosion.
8:00 am:The police who are probing the Church Street blasts say that it could have been an attempt to stall the New Year Celebrations in the city. We are looking into every possible angle and not ruling out anything.
K J George Home Minister of Karnataka visited the spot early this morning and said that a high-level meeting will be held to take stock of the situation. [Read]
(Updates end for the night)
Not intelligence failure, CM Siddaramaiah says, to convene high-level meeting on Monday
01.50 am: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited the spot where the blast occurred said that after the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the police had been alerted and security too was beefed up. "We cannot call it an intelligence failure and the police have done their best," he said.
"I will hold a high level meeting in the morning. I was out of station and even the home minister is out of station. He is coming back in sometime and in the morning we will hold a high level discussion. Let the investigations proceed and not speculate for now," he added.
IB alert was not specific, says Bengaluru Police
01.37
am:
The
Bengaluru
Police
says
that
the
Intelligence
Bureau
alert
that
was
passed
on
to
them
was
not
specific
in
nature.
There
has
been
a
threat
alert
but
it
was
only
generic
The
alert
was
issued
ahead
of
a
festival
season
and
New
Year,
the
Bangalore
police
says.
Commissioner
of
Police
M
N
Reddi
said
that
there
has
been
a
general
threat
perception
in
view
of
the
festivities.
Karnataka
Chief
Minister
Siddaramaiah
arrives
at
Church
Street
01:25 am: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has arrived at Church Street to take stock of the situation. After inspecting the spot, he will hold discussions with Bengaluru Police Commissioner and also the state police chief. the CM has been assured by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh of all support in the probe.
Preliminary probe suggests the bomb was planted at the restaurant around 7.30 pm
01.04 am: Preliminary investigations and CCTV footage obtained suggest that the bomb was kept at the Coconut Grove restaurant around 7.30 pm.
Since the area is extremely crowded during the weekends, none took note of the bag which remained there for almost an hour.
The bomb which was planted was timed to go off in an hour after it had been planted.
However, the police are not entirely happy with the CCTV footage that they have managed to obtain as there were some issues with one of the cameras that was in the restaurant.
The
investigating
team
headed
by
Additional
Commissioner
of
Police
Alok
Kumar
is
gathering
the
information
to
get
more
leads
on
the
incident.
National
Investigation
Agency
team
to
look
into
blast
12.50 am: A team of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) will look into the Church Street blast. An NIA official informed that it is too early to comment on who could have carried out the blast. Prima facie it appears that similar material was used in the Chennai train blast as well. On being asked if someone could have done this to retaliate against the recent arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas [Bengaluru man handling ISIS Twitter account hails from Bengal], the officer said it will be explored too.
Union
minister
and
Bengaluru
South
MP
Ananth
Kumar
condemns
the
blast
12.40
am:
Union
minister
Ananth
Kumar
condemns
the
attack,
says
he
has
spoken
to
CM
Siddaramaiah.
Police
launch
extensive
manhunt
to
trace
those
behind
blast
12.30
am:
The
police
have
launched
an
extensive
manhunt
to
trace
the
persons
behind
the
Church
Street
blast.
Some
clues
have
emerged
regarding
the
suspects
identity
after
questioning
two
persons
and
also
based
on
CCTV
footage.
Suspicious bag at Shantinagar bus stand turned out to be a hoax
12.27 am: The suspicious bag that was found at the Shanthinagar bus stand has turned out to be nothing. Earlier there was speculation that this bag belonged to the suspect. However upon verification there was nothing found in it.
Aluminium pipe used in blast
12.05 am: Fresh leads suggest that an aluminium pipe was used in the bomb used in the blast. An aluminium pipe has very often been used in other blasts as well where in the material is stuffed into the pipe in order to create an impact.
The police have also found a battery which was meant for the timer to trigger off the blast.
Most specific alert was about SIMI operatives
12.00
am:
The
most
specific
warning
that
the
Bangalore
Police
had
from
the
central
intelligence
agencies
was
about
the
SIMI
members.
This
alert
was
sent
to
the
Bangalore
Police
and
also
various
other
police
officials
of
big
cities.
The
Khandwa
Jail
break
which
took
place
last
year
saw
six
members
of
the
SIMI
escaping.
They
have
carried
out
a
spate
of
robberies
and
also
the
Chennai
train
blasts.
Police
probe
Al-Ummah
angle
into
the
blast
11.57
pm:
Another
angle
that
is
being
probed
is
with
regard
to
the
Al-Ummah.
The
police
are
checking
to
see
if
this
outfit
which
carried
out
the
blast
outside
the
BJP
office
in
Bangalore
could
be
behind
this
incident
too.
After
IB,
Karnataka
home
minister
also
calls
the
blast
a
terror
attack
11.50 pm: Karnataka Home Minister K George has termed the blast as a terror attack. The Intelligence Bureau had also called it a terror attack earlier.
SIMI operatives behind Chennai train blast involved in blast?
11.47 pm: The nightmare called the Khandwa jail break in which SIMI operatives escaped appears to be haunting investigators probing the blast. Based on an intelligence report, the suspicion is on the SIMI.
There were at least three alerts stating that these persons- Aizazuddin Mohammed , Zakir Hussain , Mehboob , Aslam Ayub Khan and Amzad Ramzan Khan could strike. They were involved in several bank robberies which included one at Karimnagar and also the Chennai train blast.
CM
Siddaramaiah
rushing
back
from
Mysuru
11.45
am:
Karnataka
Chief
Minister
Siddaramaiah,
who
is
in
Mysuru,
will
rush
back
to
Bangalore
to
take
stock
of
the
situation
in
the
event
of
the
Bangalore
blast.
The
CM
had
spoken
with
Union
Home
Minister
Rajnath
Singh
and
the
latter
assured
him
of
all
support.
Police to probe SIMI angle
11.27 pm: As all probable angles are being explored, the police are also ascertaining whether it could be the job of five SIMI members who have been on the run for the past year after they broke out from the Khandwa jail. "This is not a confirmed angle, but we have sought information from both the IB and the Madhya Pradesh police," a Bangalore police official informed.
Bomb was triggered off by a timer device, the timing was around 8.45 pm
11.24 pm: Sources confirmed that the bomb was triggered off by a timer device. Preliminary investigations suggest that the device was timed to trigger off the bomb at around 8.45 pm.
Questioned persons are not suspects; one is a pan-shop owner while the other a security guard
11.20 pm: The two persons being questioned are not suspects. One is a pan shop owner while the other is a security guard. These persons are being questioned for the identity of the person who planted the bomb.
Forensic team at blast spot
11.02 pm: A forensic team has arrived at the spot and is collecting material to ascertain the composition of the bomb. The team will collect the material and verify the composition.
Preliminary investigations point at the presence of ammonium nitrate, IED timer and shrapnel wrapped tightly into a cloth. The investigators are also looking at the possibility of gelatine sticks being used.
Injured woman dies in hospital
11.00 pm: Bhavani, 37, who was injured in the blast has passed away at the Mallya Hospital. She sustained head injuries.
Too much internal bleeding, said doctors
Dr Kanchan of Mallya Hospital confirmed Bhavani's death. She said they did their best but there was too much internal bleeding. She had been hit on her head. Bhavani, a resident of Tamil Nadu, had come on a holiday to Bengaluru. She had her dinner at the Empire hotel on Church street and was returning when the blast hit her.
Don't panic and spread rumours, appeals Bengaluru police commissioner
10.55 pm: Bengaluru Police Commissioner MN Reddi has urged the people to stop spreading rumours about another blast. He also confirmed that there has been no other blast anywhere in the city.
IB puts nation on high alert
10.50
pm:
The
IB
sounded
a
high
alert
across
the
country.
It
has
advised
all
major
cities
to
be
on
high
alert
while
also
adding
that
terrorists,
both
groups
and
lone
wolves
might
try
and
target
crowded
places
ahead
of
the
New
Years
celebrations.
Cops
examine
CCTV
footage
to
get
more
clues
10.45
pm:
The
police
were
examining
the
CCTV
footage
to
get
more
clues
about
the
persons
who
carried
out
the
attack.
Police
sources
informed
that
they
have
CCTV
images
and
are
looking
into
them.
Bangalore:
Karnataka
DGP
L
Pachau
reaches
spot
at
Church
street
where
a
low
intensity
blast
took
place
pic.twitter.com/R044Bld37p
—
ANI
(@ANI_news)
December
28,
2014
2 persons being questioned
10.25 pm: The Bangalore police has started questioning two persons in connection with the Church Street blast. The police are treating these persons as suspects and are questioning them for more details on the incident.
An act of terror, says IB
10.20 pm: Intelligence Bureau officials have termed it as an act of terror. The intention was to create terror and planting it in a crowded area such as Church Street on a Sunday night when the road is normally crowded was done with an intention of causing damage.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assures Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
10.10 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of all assistance.
Bomb composition
10.06 pm: The bomb comprised IED and shrapnel as per preliminary investigation reports. The bomb was triggered off by using a timer device is also what the early indication is. It was a small package thus indicating that it was of low intensity. However the police are looking for more details.
The investigations so far have also revealed that in addition to the IED timer and shrapnel there have been traces of ammonium nitrate too.
Bengaluru cops to seek help of central agencies
10.05 pm: The Bangalore Police will seek the help of the central agencies in ascertaining who is behind this attack.The possibility of the NIA also joining the probe is not ruled out. The bomb comprised IED and shrapnel as per preliminary investigation reports.
The police arrived on the spot and were investigating the case. The area was cordoned off after the blast.
Low-intensity blast, says police commissioner
9.50
pm:
Bangalore
Police
Commissioner
M
N
Reddi
said
the
blast
on
Church
Street
said
the
blast
was
a
low-intensity
one.
The
commissioner,
however,
refused
to
divulge
more
details
and
said
investigations
are
on.
Bengaluru
on
high
alert
9.40 pm: The Bangalore police have put the city on high alert following the blast. Search operations are being undertaken and coordination with the intelligence agencies has commenced.
While one lady Bhavani is serious with a head injury the other two Karthick and Sandeep are out of danger. Two have been admitted to the Mallya hospital while one is at the Hosmat hospital.
IISC
attack
occurred
on
the
same
day
in
2005
Incidentally this was the same day that even the IISC attack was carried out on December 28 in 2005. The blast also comes two weeks after the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas. While it is too early to come to any conclusion the police are not ruling anything out.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured of a fair probe and appealed to the people to stay calm.
Oneindia News
bengaluru blast 2014 bengaluru karnataka intelligence injured explosion ied terrorism terror attack terrorism in india police nia cbi probe investigations bomb blast
Read in Hindi: बेंगलुरू में बम ब्लास्ट, दो लोग जख्मी
Read in Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಸ್ಫೋಟ : ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಗೃಹ ಸಚಿವರ ಪತ್ರಿಕಾಗೋಷ್ಠಿ
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