Ghaziabad: The explosion came from the rear of the Vasundhara police outpost at about 9pm on Friday. Two windowpanes shattered, a wall cracked, air-conditioners were damaged. Sub-Inspector Vikas Singh, on duty inside, was unhurt.
Ishan, a 20-year-old from Arthala who had arrived with a food order for Singh, took glass to the face and head. He was taken to hospital and is stable.
Within hours, an X account named 'Ghazi 2' circulated a video and a statement in the name of an outfit calling itself Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan. The video shows a masked man speaking in Urdu and Hindi. Police have not verified the claim, and officers said no outfit by that name figures in counter-terror databases.
"Teams from the bomb disposal squad, the field unit and the forensic team have collected evidence," Ghaziabad Police Commissioner J Ravinder Goud said. "The cause of the explosion has not been established. We are examining every angle."
On Saturday, teams from the National Investigation Agency, Delhi Police's Special Cell, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad, the Special Task Force and the Intelligence Bureau inspected the site. UP ATS DIG Abhishek Yadav visited the outpost.
DCP (Trans-Hindon) Rijul Kumar said the initial examination found no traces of explosive material, gunpowder or chemical residue. Samples have gone to a forensic laboratory in Agra.
The Hindon Elevated Road runs about 35 feet above the outpost, and investigators are checking whether the road's height and position would allow someone to target the building from above. CCTV along the elevated stretch is being scanned. A Delhi-registered scooter found abandoned 1.5km away was seized. Its owner, Momin, has joined the investigation and told police the scooter broke down on his way home to Mayur Vihar. No link to the blast has been established.
Two other explanations are being tested: firecrackers reported to have been stored at the outpost, and a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit. Neither has been confirmed.
An FIR was registered at Indirapuram police station on a complaint by Singh, under the Explosives Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and sections 326(f), 326(g) and 132 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The account that posted the claim has since been deleted, and a cyber unit is tracing the digital trail.