Faulty ICs saved Surat from possible mayhem

SURAT: Forensic experts in Surat say that the reason the 18 bombs planted in the city by terrorists did not unleash mayhem is because there was a technical flaw in the integrated circuits wired in them. For the first time ICs have been used in explosive devices, say experts.
The failed ICs have now become the core of the entire investigation and also a puzzle for the FSL experts.Officials told TOI that once the make of the ICs and their batch numbers are decoded several links in the investigation will surface .
"We have no doubts that the bombs were placed just to create panic. The detonators were attached to the nine-volt battery and the two wires were attached to the IC. This means that the circuit was complete and the device was ready to explode. The question which is bothering everyone is why did it not blast and the simple answer is that there was some problem with the IC," said deputy director of Surat FSL, S M Darji. "There is nothing printed on the ICs which we have recovered from the bombs except the digits on it. Once we examine the ICs, we will come to know where it could have been used and that would lead to several other aspects ," Darji informed.