Bhubaneswar, April 7 The NIA formally requested the Odisha Police to take over the investigation into the blast here in January, which left two people dead, officials said.
The central agency wrote to Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh on Monday, 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 National Investigation Agency (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 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, the police said.
Investigators had seized materials, including explosive residues, from the site.
"Although it is suspected that Malik might 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.