Joining the dots: Sketch, Avon bike, underwear in bomb wrap

As investigators grope in the dark after yesterday's eight blasts in Jaipur that have now killed 63 and injured 118, the one ray of light is the striking similarity they have found between the explosives used in Jaipur and the one used in the twin explosions in Hyderabad last August. A team from Andhra Pradesh Police is set to arrive in Jaipur to help in the probe.

Contrary to claims by the local police, agencies here maintain that use of RDX is still not confirmed. It's learnt that ammonium nitrate was the principal explosive in Jaipur with an ammonium-based gel, possibly Neogel 90, that was also used in the twin explosions at Gokul Chaat Bhandar and Lumbini Park, Hyderabad. Sources said no RDX was found in the unexploded device that was defused just in time by the local bomb squad.

The Indian Express spoke to several investigators in Jaipur and New Delhi and police officials and the following have emerged as key leads in the case:

• Each bomb had an average of 7.5 kg of explosives and shrapnel packed into it. The bombs proved more lethal as they were "directional chargers," meaning on explosion the impact was focused in a particular direction to inflict maximum damage - similar bombs were used in last year's Hyderabad blast at the Gokul Chaat Bhandar.

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Strikes fit terror pattern: Mandir on Tuesday, Masjid on Friday 1

Be it the attack in New Delhi that came before Id-Diwali, the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi or the blasts at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad or the explosion today at the Hanuman Mandir in Jaipur, there's a chilling pattem to these acts of terror: target places of worship or "religious" occasions that draw the maximum people.

The intention is not only to cause maximum loss of human lives but also to inflame communal passions and hope it escalates to a bloody show down between communities.

Targets and dates have been carefully chosen. A close look at recent attacks reveals the sinister design: Hindu temples have been targeted on Tuesdays, an auspicious day for the devotees of Hanuman, while Muslims and their mosques have been attacked on Fridays.

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