Padgha youths conducted rehearsals on bottle bomb for 15 days

It took 15 days for the three Padgha youths to finalise the pattern of the bottle bomb and conduct rehearsals on it before planting the same gift-wrapped on the bike of the "target" they wanted to eliminate. The trio – Siddhesh Dalvi (20), his brother Pramod Dalvi (25) and their accomplice Roshan Shelar (19) are now in police custody.

They hatched the plan to get rid of Abhijeet Gharat (21), also from Padgha, some two months ago when the latter allegedly threatened the elder Dalvi brother to stay away from a girl who was in a relationship with his friend. In order to get even with Abhijeet, Pramod told his brother Siddhesh to prepare a bottle bomb since the latter had learnt how to make circuits at a school science exhibition.

Once the bottle bomb was ready and rehearsals done, Siddhesh sought the help of his friend Roshan to place it on the bike of Abhijeet when he went into a market complex on July 26, parking his two-wheeler outside. On his return, Abhijeet found a black plastic bag on his bike. He took it home but did not open it, suspecting something fishy. Two days later, out of curiosity, his mother Rekha Gharat (45) opened it, thereby triggering the blast in which she suffered severe injuries on her hand and face. The woman fell prey to the trio's dangerous design, although her son was their real target.

Soon after the blast, the Thane Rural police swung into action and alerted the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS). Soon, the trio was arrested for attempt to murder and a case was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act.

"Being a school dropout, Siddesh had learnt about making circuits. To complete the bottle bomb, he needed a detonator, which the two brothers acquired from a fisherman as it is commonly used during fishing," said a Padgha police officer.

Questioning of the accused persons' relatives has brought to light the fact that Abhijeet had fought with the youths a couple of months ago over an affair of his friend with a girl, he added.

"All the three accused were produced in court, which has remanded them in police custody," said Mahesh Patil, superintendent of police, Thane Rural.