Bhubaneswar/Bolangir: The Crime Branch officials on Thursday took Punjilal Meher, the mastermind in Patnagarh parcel bomb blast in which two persons were killed, on a six-day remand.
Though the CB officials had prayed for a 14-day judicial custody, the SDJM court in Bolangir allowed only a remand of six days.
A team of senior CB officials will grill Punjilal at Bolangir Circuit House to extract more information about the execution of the crime and various other aspects in connection with the blast, sources said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Crime Branch IG Arun Bothra revealed how Punjilal meticulously planned to wipe off the family of Sanjukta (Principal of Jyoti Vikash College at Bhainsa) and carried out the gory act single-handedly.
Bothra informed that Punjilal had hatched the conspiracy to settle personal scores with Sanjukta, mother of deceased Soumyashekhar after she took over as the new Principal.
Punjilal was holding the post of Principal despite being junior to Sanjukta who was later appointed the Principal. This had apparently prompted him to mastermind the crime, Bothra said.
Bothra revealed that Punjilal alone had planned the attack and it was on February 15 that he went to Raipur to send the parcel from Skyking Courier Service near railway station. Punjilal returned from Raipur the same day, Bothra said.
During interrogation, Punjilal confessed to have committed the crime and claimed that he used to stay alone in one of the floors of his house. There, he learnt bomb-making from internet and YouTube videos and carried out many tests on his own before sending the parcel with explosives.
As per Punjilal’s statements, Bothra said, he was well aware not to leave any evidence and so he experimented and prepared the explosive on a carpet and later burnt all the remaining equipment along with the carpet in the backyard of his house.
During Diwali last year, Punjilal had collected gun powder and other ingredients to prepare the killer bomb and had even experimented them on a trial basis. He then boarded a train from Kantabanji to Raipur on February 15 without a ticket and had covered his face during the journey to hide his identity.