Pune: The man arrested for planting a bomb-like device in a Hadapsar hospital told police on Saturday that he wanted to extort money from the hospital owner and repay his loans.
The Cantonment court remanded Shivaji Rathod (30) of Manjari, arrested on Friday from Nagpur railway station, in police custody till May 22. Assistant commissioner of police Atul Navgire is investigating the case.
Navgire told TOI, "Rathod told us during questioning that he lost money in the 'Bhishi' scheme (a traditional local community-based saving scheme) and borrowed money from various people to fund his father's treatment. The creditors were pestering him for money."
Navgire said, "Rathod claimed that he had a loan of over Rs 12 lakh. He wanted to earn some quick money. So, he decided to place a bomb in an establishment and later contact its owner for money."
The officer said, "The suspect watched online videos and prepared a bomb-like object. He chose the hospital for planting the object because he thought its owner might give him money. He was supposed to call the hospital owner after planting the device in the health hub on Wednesday night, but the bomb scare news broke before he could do so and he decided to flee."
The owner of Ushakiran Superspeciality Hospital saw the bomb-like device in a washroom and picked it up. Later, it was moved to an open space in front of the hospital.
