Investigating the blast: Police believe there were three terrorists

The explosives may have been triggered by remote control device.

LAHORE: Two accomplices of the suicide attacker, who carried out an attack near the Urdu Bazaar Chowk on Tuesday, succeeded in fleeing after the blast, reads the First Information Report (FIR) registered at the New Anarkali police station.

According to FIR No 48/11, registered under various sections of the Anti Terrorism Act and the Explosive Substances Act, three unidentified attackers had come to the area. One of them was the bomber while the other two had been monitoring him. After the explosives the 13-year-old attacker had on him exploded, the accomplices fled the scene.

New Anarkali SHO, Adnan Masood, told The Express Tribune that the police were also considering the possibility that the accomplices detonated the explosives on the carrier with a remote control when they saw him in an ‘effective’ range.

A police official told the Tribune that the attacker was holding a bag filled with CDs and had a suicide vest on his waist. “He tried to dodge security personnel by pretending to be a CD seller.

When the policemen told him to stand in the queue and open his bag, the explosives were detonated,” he said.

Meanwhile, the investigators removed the two damaged vehicles from the crime scene and opened the road to vehicular traffic around noon on Wednesday. According to the police, they were able to collect more evidence, which includes ball bearings and shrapnel used in the bomb. The collected materials have been sent to the Forensic Lab for analysis.

After the cordon was removed, a large number of people visited the spot all through the day, offering prayers for the victims. Most of the shops in Urdu Bazaar remained closed.

Arguing over jurisdiction

Even though the police are continuing their investigations, the New Anarkali and Bhati Gate police remain adamant that the area falls into the other’s jurisdiction.

High ranking police officers had told the New Anarkali police station, on Tuesday night, to register the FIR. Though the orders were followed, some officials of the police station objected to them “The blast site does not fall in our jurisdiction. It’s in that of the Bhati Gate police station,” said one official, requesting anonymity.

When contacted Bhati Gate SHO denied that the site fell in his jurisdiction. “If the New Anarkali police have any objections, they should approach DSP (Legal) who will decide about the jurisdiction,” he said.

Funerals

On Wednesday, funeral prayers for three police constables who died in the blast were offered at the Qila Gujjar Singh police lines.

The martyrs were Muhammad Shehbaz of Mujahid Squad and Allah Ditta and Muhammad Asif of the Shahdara police station. Shehbaz was a resident of Nankana Sahib, Allah Ditta of Manga Mandi and Asif of Sahiwal. After the funeral, the bodies were sent to the martyrs’ ancestral villages for burial.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, IG Javed Iqbal, DIG (Operation) Rao Sardar Ali, DIG (Security) Nawaz Warraich, CCPO Aslam Tareen were among those who attended the funeral. Dispelling the notion that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had accepted responsibility for the blast, IGP Javed Iqbal said that no group had done so. He constituted an investigation committee under the supervision of Lahore CCPO Aslam Tareen.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2011.