Kollam court explosion: Police zero in on Andhra Pradesh blast outfit

Kollam: Police investigating the Kollam court complex blast has zeroed in on an inter-state terrorist group with potential links with the incident. The team found the batteries used here were of the same series used to execute a similar blast at Chittoor court complex in Andhra Pradesh earlier this year. It has inferred the involvement of the same outfit in the Kollam incident.

However, higher officers are yet to confirm it as the team is still to collect clinching evidence. The team has also found that the batteries recovered from the blast site here were bought from Andhra Pradesh, which reaffirms the role of the suspected outfit. The modus operandi of both the blasts were also similar. Fingers are pointed at the involvement of a banned group that had a role in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts which is learnt to have been reorganising under a different name.

An improvised electronic device (IED) had exploded at the parking area of the court complex at the Kollam Collectorate on June 14 leaving a person injured. The bomb was planted under a jeep belonging to the labour department which exploded with a loud noise and fumes. A forensic team and bomb squad that rushed to the spot had recovered 14 fuses and 17 batteries that were used to ignite the bomb locally manufactured by filling gunpowder in a steel tiffin carrier. A circuit board used to detonate the bomb was also recovered from near the spot.