Pak, Bangladeshis quizzed, Special anti-terror force on card

HYDERABAD: Police questioned 50 persons, including Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals staying illegally in the city, in connection with Saturday's twin blasts and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday announced the setting up of a special anti-terror force.

The police grilled 20 Pakistani and 10 Bangladeshi nationals who have been staying illegally for the last few years, police sources said.

In a bid to procure clues from the public about perpetrators of the blasts, police also questioned the injured in the incidents to ascertain whether they had seen any persons moving around the blast sites under suspicious circumstances, the sources said.

M Punna Rao, head of the special investigation team probing the blasts, said there was a common pattern in the Mecca Masjid blast in the city in May and the weekend twin explosions as both occured at crowded places to inflict maximum casualties.

He said the blasts were definitely the handiwork of terrorists with the objective of creating panic in the society and fomenting trouble between different communities.

Rao said the SIT would complete the investigation as early as possible. "I cannot give a time frame but we will complete the investigation as early as possible, using all the resources at our command."

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy said the proposed anti-terror special force of the state police, on the lines of anti-Naxalite unit 'Greyhounds', would be provided training on par with international standards and modern facilities.