Bomb-making turns ‘fashionable’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Is bomb-making and use becoming a ‘trend’ among the criminals in the city? The cops believe so. The explosion at a house at Kadamkampally on Wednesday and the bursting of a bomb during its making at Vettucaud on Thursday brought to light the ground reality that criminals and  ‘wannabe’ anti-social elements are using bombs as a weapon while attacking their rival gangs.
“It has come to our notice that bombs are being made in areas like Vettucaud, Balanagar, Thumba etc. The criminals use bombs to catch  their rivals by surprise so that attacking them becomes easier,” sources said.
The explosion at Anilkumar alias Janko Kumar’s house on Wednesday confirms the above  opinion. The police suspect that Janko Kumar, a charge-sheeter once, might have deliberately kept the explosive at his house.
“We have not yet reached a conclusion on whether it was a cracker or a bomb. We had sent the remains of the explosive to the forensic laboratory. But we suspect that Kumar might have kept it at his house to make bombs as there was gun powder in a packet near the explosive in the almirah in his house. We also suspect that Kumar has the know-how to make bombs,” said Sajin L, sub-inspector at Valiyathura station.
Similarly, the incident in which two teenagers were injured while making a bomb at Vettucaud on Thursday draws attention towards the trend of youngsters engaging in bomb-making. “We cannot interrogate the injured since their condition has not improved. But we cannot rule out the chances of a group engaged in making explosives emerging in the area,” said Thumba sub-inspector Ratheendra Kumar.
A Circle Inspector in the city said  there has been an increasing trend among the local criminals to make bombs using the raw materials available, like gun powder, glass pieces and twine. “The crackers are often kept for the powder in them to make other explosives like bombs. Though the criminals earlier involved in bomb-making have been keeping away from their activities for long, the young criminals might have got the technical know-how from them,” he said.
Nine months ago, there was an incident in which a team of police personnel was attacked near Valiyathura by a team with bombs. The three accused in the case are still in remand.