Jama Masjid firing: Police detain nearly 30 people for questioning

Around 30 people were today picked up by police for questioning in connection with the firing at Jama Masjid in New Delhi in which two foreigners were injured.

A senior police official said they have rounded up 25-30 people who have criminal records and were questioning them to get some leads into the firing incident, apparently intended to cause terror ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Police is also talking to Bobby Sharma, whose car went up in flames at the spot two hours after the incident. A "poorly circuited and crudely assembled" device exploded which resulted in the car catching fire, the official said.

The fire in car was reported nearly two hours after two unidentified motorcycle-borne attackers shot and injured the Taiwanese nationals outside the Jama Masjid in the capital.

Delhi police appeared to be ruling out the role of any organised terror group but intelligence experts said it could be a handiwork of the outlawed Indian Mujahideen, which was behind a series of blasts in several cities, including Delhi and Ahmedabad.

Investigators suspect that disgruntled youths or a gang of local criminals could be behind the incidents.

The motive appears to be to scare people ahead of the Commonwealth Games, they said, adding the attacks do not show signs of involvement of terrorist outfits like Indian Mujahideen.