Bhubaneswar: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out searches at three locations in the capital in connection with the rooftop blast in city’s Sundarpada that killed two people and left two others critically injured earlier this year.The explosion occurred accidentally on Jan 27 while notorious criminal Sehnawaz Malik, his mother Lizatun Bibi, fiancée Truptimayee Mahal, and friend Amiya Mallick were allegedly assembling explosives on the terrace of their house. Malik succumbed to injuries on Feb 4, followed by his mother on Feb 10. Mahal and Mallick survived with severe burns.The NIA formally took over the probe from the Airfield police in April.Officials said Tuesday’s searches targeted residences of Malik’s associates, identified through evidence collected earlier from Rohan Ranjan Rout, a youth arrested in the case this month, and other findings. Deceased Malik was a history-sheeter. “Our operation aimed to trace the source of explosive materials and funds used to procure them, and to determine their intended use,” an NIA official said.The anti-terror agency said their searches led to seizure of several digital devices and other incriminating materials, which were being sent for forensic examination. “We are looking for others involved in the crime,” the NIA official said.
