200 Houses Evacuated In Seemapuri Over IED Scare

The recovery of two IEDs in a span of five weeks has rung alarm bells at the highest level in the Indian intelligence establishment as it reveals the ISI's desperation to target the national capital. The IED was capable of causing huge casualties in the locality, which has around 5-10 houses in each building, officials said. Delhi was put on high alert on Thursday evening.
Sources said that the special cell had received a tip-off about the presence of some suspicious men in Old Seemapuri on Thursday morning. The informer's tip suggested that the suspects may be connected to the recovery of the Ghazipur IED.
"A fully equipped team led by DCP Pramod Kushwaha and comprising ACPs Lalit Mohan Negi and Hriday Bhushan rushed to the spot," a senior officer said.
The building was vacated even as a team went in armed with MP-5 submachine guns and Glocks. However, the flat located on the second floor was empty with a bag lying inside.
The bomb disposal team and the fire brigade were called in around 2.15pm. As preliminary indications emerged that there could be explosives in the bag, cops undertook a massive evacuation operation.
"I was sleeping after having lunch when a policeman knocked on the door. He said, 'Kuchh bag mila hai, safety ke liye khali kar dein'," said a tenant living in an adjacent building.
Meanwhile, the NSG's bomb disposable squad was also called in from Manesar. They reached around 5pm and used their specialised robot to pick the bag and put it in a special enclosure surrounded by sandbags etc. On January 14, the NSG teams took less than 15 minutes to reach Ghazipur as they were stationed at Central Vista ahead of Republic Day celebrations.
X-ray and other tests were conducted, which confirmed explosives. The initial examination also suggested presence of ammonium nitrate. The bag was then destroyed in a controlled explosion inside a ditch dug up for this purpose.
The owner of the flat, Ashim, told cops that he lived in Ghaziabad and had let out the flat to a tenant through a property dealer a few weeks ago. Ten days ago, three others were seen along with the tenant, who supposedly fled on Thursday morning.
Three-four men from Bihar who used to stay on the ground floor were thought to be missing. However, they were traced to their hometown and are being verified, an official said.
The suspects are likely connected with the Ghazipur incident because of the similarities in the IED, said an official. Cops are also probing an incident of a blast in a parked car in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, on January 29 as some similarities have appeared with the Ghazipur recovery, another official said.
The cops are now interrogating the property dealer and neighbours to get some details about the missing occupant. A sketch will be prepared and a manhunt initiated in Uttar Pradesh as Seemapuri is close to the border and the suspect may have fled there, cops suspect. Footage from CCTVs in the area has been collected and is being analysed. An FIR under the Explosives Act has been registered at the special cell.