Shailendra Mohan

Malegaon, September 10 (NDTV.COM) Two days after the Malegaon blasts, NDTV has learnt that investigators have identified the owner of one of the bicycles on which a bomb was planted.

They have also identified the shop from which the other bicycle was purchased. But so far noone has been either arrested or detained.

The blasts killed 38 people and left 200 others injured.

Searching for clues

There is nothing to indicate what could have led to Friday's blasts, other than an attempt by the bombers to divide the country on communal lines.

A special ten-member team of Maharashtra's Anti Terror Squad (ATS) is in Malegaon to probe the blasts.

Sniffer dogs arrived at Malegaon's Bada Kabristan on Saturday in search of clues and so did the ATS and the elite National Security guards. But there were no definite leads except for claims that RDX had been ruled out and that a crude timer device could have been used.

Tough mystery

Eyewitnesses however, were more vocal with their theories.

"A man was wearing old clothes. Usually when people visit the mosque they wear a cap but this man was not wearing one. He looked out of place. He was strolling around the area aimlessly," said an eyewitness.

A popular theory doing the rounds is that someone dressed as a fakir slipped through. Friday was the first day of the Shab-e-Baarat, a three day festival when the town's mosques draw in many visitors.

"People feed the fakirs. They give them clothes to wear. The fakirs keep lying here for weeks and that is why terrorists took advantage of the situation. They came dressed as fakirs," said another eyewitness.

At the blast site there were direct accusations with voices linking the Malegaon blasts to explosions outside mosques in Parbhani and Nanded a couple of years ago.

"Parbhani and Nanded too witnessed blasts. There was a similar blast in Jama Masjid in Delhi. We feel the two could have a link. We don't know for sure though," said Niaz Lodhi, Chief Trustee, Bada Kabristan.

Investigators admit that cracking the Malegaon mystery will be a tough one. While a day after Mumbai blasts the police was quick to detain people, so far they have been no arrests and detentions in this case.