Lucknow: UP special task force (STF) arrested a 25-year-old man from near Kali river in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday night and recovered four “home-made time-bombs” from his possession. Preliminary probe suggests the accused, Javed (first name available only), had assembled “the bottle bombs with a timer after watching YouTube videos”. Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials are investigating the matter to check for a possible terror angle, cops said.
DIG (STF Lucknow), S Anand, said on Friday, “Javed, a school drop-out, used to work with his father who makes firecrackers at a small unit. His sister, Imrana, who is absconding, is a key suspect in the matter since she had asked him to get the bombs ready. He was arrested following a tip-off.”
ASP (STF field unit, Meerut), Brijesh Kumar Singh, supervising the operation, said, “During interrogation, Javed claimed that he had prepared the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for his sister Imrana who lives with her husband in Shamli district. According to him, Imrana had paid him Rs 10,000 in advance and promised Rs 40,000 more once the IEDs were delivered to her.”
A senior officer of STF said, “Javed is a resident of Muzaffarnagar city. The firecracker unit was run by his uncle. He told investigating officers that he used gunpowder, small iron bullets, cotton and other substances to make the IEDs. He had bought glucose bottles and iron tablets from the local market and timers from watch-making shops.”
A case was registered under IPC section 286 (negligent conduct for explosive substance) and sections 4/5 of Explosives Act against the accused at Nagar Kotwali police station, the officer added.
