Ammonium Nitrate Used in Bangalore Blast, Police Say

Jagadeesh Nv/European Pressphoto Agency An official inspecting the motorcycle that was used in the blast in Malleshwaram in Bangalore, Karnataka, on Wednesday.

NEW DELHIâ€" The Bangalore police and government officials said Thursday that investigators are chasing several leads in the blast that injured 16 people on Wednesday.

The police chief of Karnataka, Lalrokhuma Pachau, said at a news conference that the police have identified the material used in the explosion as ammonium nitrate, which is easily available at open markets and frequently used by terrorist groups in making bombs.

In Bangalore, which is the capital of Karnataka, the state’s home minister, R. Ashok, told the news channel NDTV, “The police have some clues regarding some vehicles, some SIM cards. We have got some five, six CCTV camera footage also. We will trace the culprits.”

The chief minister of Karnataka, Jagadish Shettar, said the timing and the location of the explosion possibly pointed to a political motive. “There is suspicion because the bomb blast took place in front of B.J.P. office,” he told NDTV, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party. “There is election time, so there is suspicion. But we can only say after the investigation.”

In Delhi, when reporters asked Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde whether the Bangalore bombing was connected to the one in Boston, Mr. Shinde said, “So far we have no knowledge of such a theory. As far as I know, nobody has approached us.”