Police prepare sketch of Mumbai blast suspect

NEW DELHI - The Indian police have prepared a sketch of one suspect in Wednesday's triple bombings in Mumbai, while a man reportedly died of police torture during interrogation about the blast, local media reported on Sunday.

"We are taking the help of technical experts to improve the quality of the (grainy) image and I think in 24 to 48 hours we should able to get a better image," Rakesh Maria, Maharashtra state's anti-terrorism squad chief, told reporters.

Investigators have zeroed in on two suspects, local daily Hindustan Times quoted Maria as saying on Saturday.

He said although the police had another suspect's photograph obtained from the closed circuit TV footage, the police need to work more on the photograph due to the poor quality of the footage, according to the report.

Police examination of debris has already indicated that the bombs, hidden in the crowded streets, used ammonium nitrate - a fertilizer ingredient commonly used in improvised explosive devices.

During the police's ongoing investigation, Faiz Usmani, brother of 2008 Ahmedabad blast accused Afzal Usmani, died early on Sunday following a brain hemorrhage, according to Indo-Asian News Service, quoting hospital sources.

The report quoted a medical officer as saying that Faiz Usmani was picked up as a suspect in the triple blasts, which left 19 people dead and 129 others injured, but late on Saturday evening he suddenly took ill and was rushed to Sion Hospital in Mumbai. He died there around 1:20 am on Sunday.

The officer said when Faiz was brought to hospital, his blood pressure was in excess of 220 points and there was a large amount of blood in his brain, said the report.

Faiz was the brother of Afzal Usmani, one of the prime accused in blasts in Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat in 2008, and both were suspected members of the Indian Mujahiddeen. Relatives of Faiz said he was tortured by police.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik called Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, assured his Indian counterpart of Pakistan's fullest assistance and said that the culprits will be punished, said the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, according to Xinhua.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had condemned the blasts in Mumbai and expressed distress at the loss of life and injuries.

Xinhua-AFP

(China Daily 07/18/2011 page12)