Some Hindu groups that had protested the staging of the Marathi play Aamhi Pachpute, a show of which was to begin soon when the explosion took place on Wednesday evening at Thane’s popular lakefront Gadkari Rangayatan, will be under the police scanner, said investigators.

Seven people were injured. “We are aware that some groups had protested in the recent past against Santosh Pawar’s plays. We are probing this angle as well. These groups will be under the scanner,” said Thane Police Commissioner Anil Dhere.

The crude bomb went off minutes before the Marathi play could start. The show was to begin at 4.30 pm, while the explosion occurred around 4.10 pm. Only four days ago, a crude bomb was detected in Vashi’s Vishnudas Bhave auditorium during the interval of the same play.

According to the state’s intelligence machinery, the Thane blast has undeniable similarities to the recovery of the crude bomb in Vashi.

“There are just too many similarities in both cases for it to be a coincidence. We are conducting a probe along with the Thane police, and I cannot comment further at this stage,” said D Sivanandan, Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department.

Among those to be questioned first will be eyewitnesses, mostly employees of the theatre complex and the Thane Municipal Corporation. “We will interrogate Swapnil Dalvi, the booking manager of the theatre, who first spotted the bag. We will question him tonight,” said DCP Sahebrao Patil (Zone I). Dalvi sustained shrapnel injuries to his stomach, abdomen and leg.

A team from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and a dog squad reached the theatre shortly after the explosion to gather clues and evidence.

“We do not yet know what the nature of the explosive used is. However, we know that a packet that was kept in the basement has exploded. The packet was on the floor, and not on a bicycle, although one was parked nearby,” said Dhere.

However, there was no damage to the floor. Samples from the blast site are being sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory for analysis. “We have not been able to recover any detonator from the scene,” said Dhere.

Following the detection of a crude bomb in Vashi, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra police had pointed out that the explosive device did not contain any shrapnel.

“We have sent a team to the scene of the blast to collect forensic evidence. We will do the needful and analyse the materials used. It is too early to comment on the nature of the explosive used,” said Dr Rukmini Krishnamurthy, director of the Kalina Forensic Sciences Laboratory.

Thane’s Joint Commissioner of Police Madhu Shinde said this bomb too was crude in nature. “Prima facie, we feel that the explosive used in it was gun powder, but something concrete can be said only after we get the chemical analysis report,” Shinde said. “But nails were used in the explosion,” added Dhere.

Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Rashmi Shukla said the bag was spotted in the basement parking lot of the theatre. “A boy identified noticed a packet lying on the floor in the parking lot, and informed the booking clerk at the theatre. The booking clerk then called a wireman named Surve and a carpenter identified as Vivek Mhatre to check the packet. Before they could do so, the packet exploded dispersing small nails packed in it,” said Shukla.

Asked what security and preventive measures were being implemented following the blast, Shukla said: “We have sent out instructions to our men to take stock of places where people congregate in large numbers, and to take a security audit of such premises. Basic measures like the installation of CCTV cameras should be implemented.”

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said: “We are on alert, and are taking all necessary precautions in the city. Patrolling and deployment have been increased, and a close watch is being kept on sensitive spots and buildings.”

Also, the TMC declared compensation of Rs 10,000 to the injured. “The cost of their treatment will be borne by the TMC,” said Nandkumar Jantre. “In fact, after the Vashi (Vishnudas Bhave) incident, we became more cautious. Our employees spotted the bomb before it went off.”

Flurry of bomb hoaxes in the city
Immediately after an explosion at the parking lot of Gadkari Rangayatan, Thane, at 4.10 pm on Wednesday, a flurry of panic calls about suspected bombs in trains and buses, kept the city police busy.

According to a railway police official, the Bandra control room received a panic call from an unidentified woman about a bomb scare in Mahalaxmi, Panvel, Dockyard Road and Kanjurmarg railway stations. “The lady said she had overheard a co-passenger talking on the mobile phone,” the official said. GRP constable Prakash Gurav said, “We have searched all the station and haven’t found any explosives anywhere. They were all hoaxes.”

At 9.20 pm, the Thane police received another call about a black plastic back found in a Thane Municipal Transport bus. “We have checked the bus thoroughly, and have found an black empty plastic bag. However, it was proactive of the passengers to have alerted the police,” an official said.