Hyderabad blasts: 2 suspects identified

Inching close to a breakthrough in the probe into twin blasts in Hyderabad, security agencies and police have identified at least two men who is said to have planted the bombs.

Raids were conducted in various parts of the city to nab the duo who could have planted the bombs that were believed to have been assembled by Mohammad Sharifuddin, a Bangladeshi national, official sources in Delhi said.

They said the role of Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) was almost certain after Sharifuddin's name cropped up during investigations. Sharifuddin had extended support to HUJI and other Pakistan-based militant groups purely for monetary gains, sources said.

Sharifuddin is believed to have undertaken the task as per the order of HUJI commander Abdul Sahil Mohammed. Throughout July and early August, Mohammad left dozens of Internet-chat messages for his Hyderabad operative, asking them to go ahead with the plans he had earlier authorized.

The police questioned 50 persons, including Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals, staying illegally in the city. The grilled included 20 Pakistani and 10 Bangladeshi nationals.

To procure clues from the public about perpetrators of the blasts, the police also talked to   the three injured in the incidents to ascertain whether they had seen any persons moving around the blast sites under suspicious circumstances, sources said.

The three injured, who were taken from the hospital to a police station, were two engineering students from Pune who were at the Lumbini Park and a 25-year-old man identified as Abdullah from Assam who was present at the popular eatery in Kothi.

A meeting of senior officials of the home ministry in Delhi reviewed the security situation in Hyderabad. Under fire for intelligence failure, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to set up an elite force to tackle terror.