Ammonium sulphate filled bomb explodes, 2 others defused

A powerful bomb packed with ammonium sulphate exploded today and ripped through a flat at a housing colony here but there were no casualties.
Additional Director General of Police (HQ) Gupteshwar Pandey said the explosion took place last night at Bahadurpur housing colony and two other high-intensity live can bombs also made of ammonium sulphate, were defused timely by the police.
Three persons have been identified as being behind making of the can bombs and search is on for them, he said, adding all of them hail from outside Patna.
During the search of the flat number 21 in MIG sector 3 of the housing colony, a fishing net and a bike were found. Both the things have been seized by the police.

Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana said security agencies are probing if the incident had any link with the 2013 serial bomb blasts in Patna and Bodh Gaya as a timer device of lotus brand was found attached with the bombs defused today.
A watch of the same brand was used in the bombs that went off in 2013 at Narendra Modi's rally at Gandhi Maidan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and at Bodh Gaya, police said.

The ADG said similar lotus watch fitted bombs were also recovered from a house on the outskirts of Ranchi after the Patna blasts.

Pandey said that on the request of Bihar police, a team of NIA has arrived from Delhi and is probing the case.
ATS of Bihar police has also been involved, he added. The NIA team is probing the Patna and Bodh Gaya blasts.