Explosive in UP Assembly: NIA begins probe

The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on July 15, 2017 began a probe into the discovery of high-grade PETN explosive inside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, an official said.

Officials informed IANS that the NIA team arrived in Lucknow on July 14, 2017 and was immediately briefed about the case.

The NIA officials, other than visiting the spot where the Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate explosive was discovered on July 13, 2017 evening, were also likely to grill the security staff and agencies of the State police responsible for security of the Vidhan Sabha.

The State security personnel would be quizzed on why no action was taken to spruce up security despite a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau in May 2017 about a possible terror plot to attack the State Assembly when in session.

The NIA team would also question the House marshals and other security staff along with janitors and others who has access to the exclusive area, near the seat of the Leader of the Opposition.

Police still clueless

Even as the NIA began its probe, questions remain on who actually sneaked in the explosive, which could have caused major havoc.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already termed it a terror plot to harm the Assembly and the lawmakers but the police and investigative agencies so far find themselves tied in knots as to how the explosive was sneaked in through the three-tier security of the State Assembly and by whom.

A senior security official informed IANS that many a times the lawmakers refuse to cooperate with the security and throw a tantrum on being frisked.

Even the sniffer dogs of the State Police that are deployed during House sessions failed to discover the explosive, which is very lethal and has potential of causing widespread damage. The white powder packet that was found near the seat of the Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhary weighed 150g. A police officer said 500g of PETN was enough to bring down the entire Vidhan Sabha building.

Investigators are now poring during through CCTV footage to zero in on the person who could have planted the explosive. Thankfully, whoever did smuggle in the explosive could not also sneak in the detonator. However, explosive experts say that a cell phone was enough to “spark the powder” with dreadful consequences.

The place where the explosive was found is a sanitised zone and only Vidhan Sabha security staff, marshals and the lawmakers are allowed to go there.

PETN was used by terrorists in the explosion outside the Delhi High Court on September 7, 2011, killing 17 people and injuring 76. PETN was also used to trigger serial blasts in Varanasi in 2016.