Anarkali blast: Investigators mystified by explosives’ make

No shrapnel or ball bearings used; similar ingredients employed in previous explosions.

LAHORE: Police investigators were left mystified by the lack of any shrapnel or ball bearing in the explosives used to rock Lahore’s bustling Anarkali food street on Saturday night.

The staple militant tactic is to cause maximum death and destruction through packing their explosive devices with these two ‘essentials’, leading some to conclude that this might not be the work of terror outfits, but an upshot of business rivalry.

This point is highlighted in the initial report prepared by a joint investigation team probing the Lahore market blast.

According to the initial report, the explosives used in the blast were identical to those employed in the 2010 Iqbal Town and Taxali Gate cracker explosions. Moreover, the railway station blast, which had claimed two lives in the city last year, also had similar ingredients.

The report says explosive material of the bomb weighed around 2kg-2.5kg and had no ball bearing or shrapnel; however it did contain glass pieces.

According to a CIA official glass pieces of bottles from a soda water stall also aggravated the situation and slashed through bodies of people, becoming a major reason for deaths.

The police also obtained footage captured by the CCTV installed at some shops to identify the culprits.

During search operations carried out in several localities including Lytton Road, Jain Mandir, Mauj Darya, Mozang Adda near Anarkali area, the police arrested more than hundred people. The CCPO Lahore told the media that at least seven of the arrested people were suspected of being directly involved in the blast.

Joint Investigation Team Head Zulfiqar Hameed said groups that had been arrested in the past over their involvement in similar crime would be interrogated to get a lead in the case.



He said apparently the target was ordinary diners. He said police had drafted the initial report with input from bomb disposal squad after gathering evidence and recording witness accounts.

After final forensic checking, the police reopened the food street for general public later in the evening.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the cracker blast rose to five. Out of the 50 people who suffered injuries and admitted to different hospitals, eight people at the Mayo Hospital sustained serious wounds, nine were discharged today.

Blast’s other dimensions

The police are reviewing all possible dimensions of the Anarkali incident as investigation officials are under immense pressure after the blast, which hit a high security zone, home to many important government offices.

According to initial reports, the hotel that was targeted in the blast had been a gambling den for several years. The investigation has also included hotel owner, Bodi Gujjer, against whom many cases are registered with the police. In his initial statement, Bodi Gujjer said he had rented out his hotel and whatever activity had been going on in there was not in his knowledge.

Investigation police suspects that personal rivalry could also be a reason behind the attack as the explosive material, though of high quantity, had no ball bearings or shrapnel.

Investigation officers revealed that apart from Meyo Bokhara restaurant, several other hotels in the food street are also used as gambling dens.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2013.