LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has taken the lead in investigating the explosion outside the Vasundhara police outpost in Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram area, amid indications of a possible terror angle after a little-known Kashmir-linked outfit claimed responsibility through a social media post.Investigators are also examining a suspicious Delhi-registered scooter found near the scene.An ATS team headed by DIG Abhishek Yadav reached the spot on Saturday soon after the incident and began a joint probe with the bomb disposal squad, forensic experts and local police. Security agencies are scrutinising whether an explosive device was hurled at the outpost from the adjoining elevated road.The blast occurred around 9pm on Friday, on the eve of Dhanteras, near the police outpost under Indirapuram police station limits.While the explosion caused damage to the outpost, including shattered windowpanes, damaged air-conditioners and cracks in a wall, no police personnel were injured. A sub-inspector present inside the outpost at the time escaped unharmed.However, Vishal, a 20-year-old food delivery executive from Arthala who was passing by the outpost, sustained minor injuries. He was treated and is reported to be stable.The investigation gathered momentum after an X account named “Ghazi-2” circulated a purported claim of responsibility on behalf of an outfit calling itself Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan.The group allegedly released a video showing a masked individual speaking in Urdu and Hindi and claiming that the attack was aimed at the police. An English-language statement accompanied the video.Sources familiar with the probe said the outfit is largely unknown to security agencies but bears similarities to networks allegedly linked to Pakistan-based operative Shehzad Bhatti. Investigators are examining whether the claim has connections to the ISI-Bhatti network.Bhatti had previously floated a similarly named outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), which had issued threats and claimed attacks targeting police personnel and stations in Punjab. Notably, the UP ATS had recently cracked down on an alleged Bhatti-linked module operating in the state, a case later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).The social media account that uploaded the video and statement was reportedly deleted shortly after the posts surfaced. Cyber experts are now tracing the origin of the content and verifying the authenticity of the claim.One of the key focus areas of the probe is the elevated road running near the outpost. Preliminary findings suggest an explosive object may have been thrown from the approximately 35-foot-high stretch towards the outpost below.CCTV footage from the elevated corridor and surrounding areas is being analysed to identify suspicious movement before and after the blast.Meanwhile, forensic teams have collected samples from the site, and officials said the exact nature of the explosion would be known only after scientific examination of the evidence.Officials said all angles, including sabotage and accidental ignition, remain under examination.The area remains cordoned off as ATS, forensic and local police teams continue efforts to establish the source of the blast and identify those behind it.
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