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In a surprise departure from norms, investigators of the National Security Guard post-blast study team were not allowed to gather vital data of the terror-struck and burnt Israeli embassy SUV citing "diplomatic reasons".
NSG's National Bomb Data Centre is the central nodal agency for monitoring, recording and analysing all bombing incidents in the country and it acts as the vital repository of all domain knowledge in this regard.
"Let me clarify, we were not involved in the analysis of this particular incident (sticking of magnetic bomb in an Israeli embassy vehicle). Having said that, I can only make a educated guess like you that it is an explosive device," NSG DG R K Medhekar told reporters on the sidelines of a conference when asked about the analysis of his blast study team in the February 13 terror incident.
The NSG chief, however, did not elaborate on the reasons but senior officials of the elite force said they were asked not to visit the spot near the prime minister's residence due to some "diplomatic reasons".
"However, we later sent a small team to the Tughlaq road police station to get post-blast samples from the Innova car which was parked there," a senior officer said.
"Probably it was thought that the Delhi police and Central Bureau of Investigation forensic teams which went to the spot were enough for the job but it was surprising for us. The car was also washed off by fire brigade water tenders but still few samples can be gathered," the officer said.
The NBDC charter mandates the NSG to send its post blast study teams to all places where a blast has occurred in the country and collect samples from the spot.
The importance of the job can be gauged from the fact that last year, during a bombing incident in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, the NSG headquarters had air rushed a special post-blast squad to the spot to save time and secure vital forensic data of the explosion.
However, Medhekar said the method of sticking the bomb to the rear of the Israel embassy car was innovative in itself.
"According to me, the modus operandi was different more than anything else. Whatever may be the bomb and however it may have been made, the idea of attaching it with a magnet to a car is something we have not seen in the recent past. Some people tell me that there have been such incidents in the past. The actual explosive used, the trigger mechanism and the detonator used (to carry out the attack)...this is a subject of analysis," he said.