CCTV footage may give clues about Pune bombing

PUNE - Investigators looking for clues in the Pune terror attack were Monday examining CCTV footage from a luxury hotel opposite the German Bakery, where a blast killed nine people Saturday, an official close to the probe said.

The footage shows images of two potential suspects entering the German Bakery, a popular restaurant in the upscale Koregaon Park in Pune, the official said. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) are monitoring the video.

“It shows two suspects. One is talking over the phone and the other is holding a backpack,” the official said.

The footage has been obtained from the CCTV cameras installed on the gates of the luxury hotel situated across the road from the German Bakery where a powerful explosion Saturday evening killed nine people and injured nearly 60 — mostly youngsters.

The official said the footage was too “grainy and coarse” to give any clues about the suspects in its present form.

“But the investigators are getting it closely examined and may enhance the generation of the video to get some clues,” he said.

“They are looking for the suspects distinctive physical features. It can reveal height, his clothes, pattern of walking, he said, adding that they were searching for even the smallest clues that could aid in the investigation.

As of now we are not even able to determine the colour of the backpack in the footage, the official said when asked whether the bag that contained the explosive was apparently blue and red in colour.

The bag was hidden under a table in the German Bakery.

The bomb went off when a waiter, among the dead, tried to open the unattended bag noticed by a group of friends. Two siblings from the group also died in the blast.