IED-stuffed bag found in house in Delhi’s Old Seemapuri, 2 being grilled: Police

PTI, Feb 18, 2022, 8:51 AM IST

Police at the spot in Old Seemapur where IED was found (Image credit: ANI)

New Delhi: A bag containing an IED was found in a house in the Old Seemapuri area in the northeastern part of Delhi on Thursday, a police official said.

The improvised explosive device (IED), weighing 2.5 to 3 kg, was later diffused while the owner of the house and a property dealer were being interrogated by the police.

NSG sources said the explosive is suspected to be a mix of ammonium nitrate and RDX but a forensic lab will examine it in detail. With this explosive having similarity with the one recovered from the Ghazipur flower market ahead of Republic Day last month, the police believe that both these cases might be linked to the same people.

The mother of house owner Aashim alleged that police have taken him in their custody, while his wife said they had rented out the floor, where the explosives have been found, to two persons a couple of months ago.

According to an official, investigation into the Ghazipur flower market case led the police to receive a tip-off about the explosive in Old Seemapuri.

No sooner the information was received in the afternoon, Special Cell teams dashed to the site. NSG officials and the Forensic Science Laboratory team were also rushed to the spot.

The officer said, ”When our team went to the house, it was vacant. The bag was found there and we immediately informed the NSG.” ”The suspects have managed to escape. We suspect the explosive recovered from Old Seempuri has been made by the same persons who placed IED at Ghazipur flower market last month,” the officer said.

The IED was picked up by the NSG bomb disposal squad from the second floor of the building. Security has been beefed up and the area cordoned off.

The IED was destroyed using a water disruptor, an NSG officer said, adding all pieces of evidence have been handed over to the Delhi Police.

A security official said the bomb bears similarities to the explosive recovered from the Ghazipur flower market. The Delhi Police’s Special Cell unit which is probing the Ghazipur case has been tasked with investigating the current incident also.

According to the police, Aashim, the owner of the house in Old Seemapuri, and property dealer Shanu, who had brought the tenants to him, were being questioned in connection with the incident. Aashim mother claimed, ”We got to know in the afternoon that police have taken Aashim into their custody. He had given the house on rent to some people and had nothing to do with the incident. I have no idea about the persons living there.” His wife claimed that the house was rented out to two persons a couple of months back. ”We don’t know anything else,” she said.

Aashim lives with his family in nearby Shaheed Nagar.

A local said, ”Those living in the area where the explosive has been found have been vacated. Police told us that they have come to know about tenants living in that house who are now absconding.” In January, an IED stuffed with RDX and ammonium nitrate was found inside an unattended bag at the Ghazipur flower market here but it was later defused.

The incident had happened ahead of Republic Day celebrations on January 26 for which the security apparatus in the National Capital was already on a high alert.