IED disguised as torch behind blast that injured two in Bengaluru: Probe

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Preliminary investigations into a blast that occurred on October 20 at an under-construction building in east Bengaluru, in which two workers from UP and Assam were injured, have revealed that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disguised as a torch caused the explosion, The Indian Express has learnt.

One of the injured, Suraj Kumar (28), a painter from Gorakhpur, suffered the brunt of the impact, losing two fingers, along with severe burns and shrapnel wounds on his face, head and chest. The other, Alauddin Barbhaij (53) from Dimapur, a security guard at the seven-storey building site in Pulakeshinagar, suffered a minor injury on his eye, said sources in hospitals that treated them.

Police sources told this newspaper that Barbhaij, who had been working at the construction site for around 15 days, obtained a parcel on the afternoon of October 20 at the ground floor of the site. "CCTV footage shows the parcel was delivered by an unidentified person and was picked up by the security guard," the sources said.

"The guard called Kumar, who was on the seventh floor, for help to activate a torch that was in the parcel. The guard then took the torch up to the fifth floor. There, the torch exploded in Kumar's hands when he tried to switch it on," the sources said.

"My brother was working on the seventh floor and I was on the sixth floor. We don't know how he came down but somebody seems to have called him down. After the incident happened he was lying on the floor bleeding profusely. We did not wait for a moment to see what happened and rushed him to hospital," said Abhi Kumar (18), Suraj's brother.

"We were working in the building for only two days when the incident happened. We do not know any one at a personal level at the building. We have not been able to ask him how it happened as his face is badly injured," Abhi said.

"The IED torch contained a small amount of explosive material in the form of gunpowder (nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose), with the torch battery providing energy to trigger a detonator. It contained some ball bearings, which acted as shrapnel and pierced the victim and nearby windows," sources said.

"The torch was converted into a small but powerful IED to target an individual rather than for terrorism. The torch completely disintegrated," sources said.

Bengaluru Police began questioning Barbhaij on Wednesday after he was discharged from the Minto Eye Hospital following minor treatment for a cut near his eye from the blast. The guard has been providing contradictory versions of the incident, sources said.

The police, however, have not officially confirmed that an IED was involved in the blast. Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar said police were awaiting final results of a forensic examination to establish the nature of the device. "There is nothing to panic about at this stage. The festive season is underway, and we are very alert. We are investigating the incident and are not ruling out anything," he said.

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said material recovered from the site was being examined. "We are evaluating that. All materials have gone for a forensic audit," he said. (With Atiya Firdos)