Lucknow: The NIA and ATS teams investigating the recovery of explosive material PETN in the state Assembly are now preparing to question seven legislators whose seats are round the seat where the explosive was found.
All the legislators belong to the Samajwadi Party since the explosive was found in the seat enclosure allotted to the Samajwadi Party. SP MLA Manoj Pandey, under whose seat cushion the explosive was found is among those who will be interrogated.
“We are going to screen the CCTV footage of that day and legislators sitting on adjoining seats will be called for questioning. We will be asking them if they saw any suspicious movement during their presence in the Vidhan Sabha. This is necessary for investigations and no one should take offence”, said an officer in the ATS team.
Since Doordarshan Lucknow has started live telecast of Assembly proceedings on a pilot project basis, the footage has also been sought form the DD team.
The CCTV footage, however, may not reveal much because the packet of explosive was found under a cushion and not under the seat as stated earlier. If any unidentified person entered the Assembly on that day, the footage may give a clue to the investigating team.
On Friday night, the ATS team prepared a sketch of the opposition benches and sought recordings of all entry points inside and outside the Vidhan Sabha. Meanwhile, security agencies found another packet of white powder on Friday night.
IG ATS Aseem Arun said that the packet, kept behind a notice board, contained about 50 grams of the powder that was said to be magnesium sulphate, a drying agent used in packing. The powder, however, has been sent for forensic examination.
The PETN explosive tested by the forensic laboratory in Lucknow will now be re-tested by the central forensic laboratory too.
The police teams carried out mock drills in the Vidhan Bhawan on Saturday. Principal secretary Vidhan Sabha Pradeep Dubey said that the formal letter seeking NIA probe had been sent to the centre and the NIA team had already arrived.
Meanwhile, the investigating teams carried out extensive search of the state Assembly on Saturday and found huge amounts of empty paan masala and gutkha packets tucked into the seat cushions.
