The investigation into the crude bomb attack in front of AKG Centre appeared to gather pace amidst rampant griping about an alleged law enforcement failure.
Forensic experts gathered evidence from the explosion scene. A police official said the throw-down type country-made explosive device that detonates on impact appeared to contain no lethal shrapnel.
The explosive charge seemed fashioned from low-grade powder used in firecrackers. The official called it a crude "flash-bang" device that could stun but not injure seriously. It could also cause burns.
The police faced the challenge of identifying the firecracker "thrower". Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Vijay Sakhare and City Police Commissioner Sparjan Kumar visited the crime scene. The police said they were working on several leads.
Mr. Kumar said investigators were working on a few leads. They were analysing the grainy surveillance camera footage of the incident. The police have also cast a digital dragnet.
They have asked cell phone service providers to give information on all devices in the locality at the time of the crime. An investigator said the whereabouts of persons present in the locality at the time could help the police identify the attacker. He said the attack appeared well-plotted. The CPI(M) and CPI had also evinced such a view.
The police said preliminary inference pointed to a forward scout reporting the presence of police officers in front of the AKG Centre, thereby rerouting the attacker to the unguarded second gate.
The police were probing if the incident was in any way linked to the 2017 "CPI(M) attack" on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP's) State headquarters here. The State government had recently moved the court to drop charges against the accused in the case.
The police have upped security at the AKG Centre and important government and political offices.
