Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: A powerful explosion on January 27 at a Sundarpada residential rooftop killed notorious history-sheeter Shahnawaz Malik and his mother, with the National Investigation Agency now probing potential wider terror links after recovering gunpowder and explosive traces from the suspected bomb-making site.
CCTV footage captured the horrific moment flames erupted behind water tanks, sending shockwaves through the neighborhood, critically injuring four—including Malik’s associate Amiya Malik and fiancée—who were allegedly assembling crude bombs, sparking panic as residents fled the deafening blast.
Malik, with multiple prior criminal cases, succumbed to severe burns on February 4 at SCB Medical College, followed by his mother during treatment, while police and NIA teams scour for accomplices, materials sources, and motives in the Airfield area house rented for illicit operations.
Forensic analysis of high-explosive residues rules out accidents, intensifying scrutiny over undetected bomb-making in a bustling urban zone and raising alarms about local networks amid Odisha’s heightened security vigilance.
