Bhubaneswar, April 6 The NIA formally requested the police on Monday to take over the investigation into the January blast in Bhubaneswar that left two people dead, officials said.
The central agency wrote to Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh, seeking to transfer the case for a detailed investigation into a possible terror angle behind the explosion that took place at Azad Nagar in the Airfield police station area on January 27, they said.
The NIA intends to examine possible links to larger criminal networks and ascertain whether high-grade explosives, such as RDX, were used in the blast, they added.
The Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Commissionerate Police, which is currently investigating the case, had earlier said that four people were injured when the prime suspect, Shahnawaz Malik (26), a known criminal, was allegedly assembling an explosive device on the rooftop of a rented house.
Malik and a woman identified as Lizatun Bibi later succumbed to their burn injuries, while two others survived, police said.
Investigators had seized incriminating materials, including explosive residues, from the site.
"Although it is suspected that Malik may have used high-grade explosive material, it is yet to be confirmed whether RDX was used," an officer said.
An NIA team had visited the blast site in January and examined forensic evidence and CCTV footage as part of a preliminary inquiry.
