Masked and unmasked : The Bodhgaya Suspect



The sketch of the Bodhgaya blast suspect relesed by NIA

 The NIA, grappling for a breakthrough in the bodhgaya serial blast, on 17 July 31 two sketches of a person whose movement leading up to the explosion were found to be suspicious. The sketches were said to be of a man believed to be hailing from Bihar or nearby areas. NIA sources in Delhi said that witness examination and video clips available from the CCTV cameras in the Mahabodhi Mahavihara complex suggest that the man is not a foreigner. The suspect is robbed like a Buddhist monk and in one sketch, is seen wearing a mask that covers the mouth. “Information collected from various sources suggested he is not a foreigner. He may be from Bihar or nearby areas,” said an NIA source. No other suspect have been targeted yet, the source said. The two sketch have been developed with the available leads and is being shared with the general public. The person will be awarded and his/her identity will be kept confidential who will give info about the suspect in the sketch, announced by the NIA. The agency has also released a video clip where the suspect is seen on the CCTV camera. The video clip has been merged to form one single clip where the suspect is seen. The sketch has been prepared on the basis of inputs provided by locals and the person present on the Mahavihara campus on morning of july 7. According to the information the suspect was dressed in a civara-the saffron robes of a Buddhist monk and was carrying a bag, his body wrapped in a chaadar and the face was covered with a mask in wee hours of july 7.The investigation agency is looking at a group that was formed after the Rohingya-Buddhist clashes in Rakhine state of Myanmar since last year. Inspired by that violence against the Rohingyas, there were strong reaction in Bangladesh, India and even Malaysia, besides among radical group of Pakistan. Hafiz Muhammad Sayeed, the chief of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, had tweeted that India was in cahoots with the Buddhist in persecution of the Muslim Rohingyas