DRDO scientist arrested for blast in Delhi court, wanted to kill lawyer-neighbour

A 47-year-old scientist in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has landed in police net after he orchestrated a low-intensity explosion in a Delhi court to allegedly kill a lawyer who is his neighbour, police said on Saturday.

Bharat Bhushan Kataria, a senior scientist with the DRDO, was arrested on Friday in connection with the blast that took place in Room No 102 in Rohini Court Complex on December 9 that injured one person.

Kataria had allegedly planted the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a tiffin box inside the courtroom as he wanted to kill his neighbour.

The scientist had entered the court at 9.33 am on December 9 with two bags and he allegedly left behind one of them inside the courtroom. He exited the court premises at 10.35 am.

Both the parties had lodged several cases against each other earlier. They are neighbours and live in the same building. Prima facie, it seems Kataria had a grudge against the lawyer, a senior police official said. Kataria has filed five cases against the lawyer, who in turn filed seven against the scientist.

Police said the lawyer lives on the ground floor while the accused lives on the third floor of the same building.

The arrests came after teams constituted to probe the case checked footage from numerous CCTV cameras inside and outside Rohini Court complex. Following this, a number of suspects were identified and questioned.

Investigators also looked into the background of people who were present inside the court and it was through this they managed to zero in on the scientist.

During the investigation, Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana told reporters, police identified the cars that had entered on December 9 inside the court complex.

"Around 100 CCTV cameras were analysed and when suspicious movements were zeroed down. CCTVs of nearby locations were also used to corroborate the suspicious movements," Asthana said.

Details of around 1,000 cars that had entered the court premises were also checked.

Officials said the scientist allegedly used the anti-theft mechanism of two-wheelers to act as a remote for the explosive. The IED was not properly assembled due to which only the detonator exploded, police said.

Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the National Security Guard (NSG), which had visited the site of the explosion, had discovered that the materials allegedly used by Kataria for making the IED were easily available in the market.

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