Hyderabad/New Delhi: Government today said security agencies suspect Pakistan-based terror outfits like Laskhar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad may be behind the twin blasts in Hyderabad as Andhra Pradesh police collected evidence it contended could help identify the groups.

Asked if any group has been identified, Union Home Minister Madhukar Gupta told reporters in Delhi that while the probe was at its initial stages, security agencies and state police were suspecting the role of Laskhar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad. "Investigations into this incident are in a very, very preliminary stage and based on some information so far some possibilities have been identified and expressed," he said. "These elements or organisations are clearly outside the country and they resort to fuelling such kinds of activities", Gupta said adding "but what is more important is to nab those who planned it and those who executed it."

In Hyderabad, Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh said, "we have collected physical evidence from the blast sites and are hopeful that it would give clues about the groups involved in the terror strikes."

While declining to name the outfits responsible for the bombings, he said the explosive substance used in the blasts was Neogel-90, a highly explosive ammonium nitrate, which was manufactured in Nagpur.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had yesterday blamed "international terrorist organisations" based in Pakistan and Bangladesh for the twin blasts. 

Meanwhile, tension gripped several parts of Hyderabad city today as a string of anonymous calls warning of bomb explosions sent the police into a tizzy.

The bomb disposal squads scanned the state secretariat, following a call that a bomb was planted in the premises. The Chief Minister was in his office when five bomb disposal squads searched the sprawling complex including the Chief Minister's office. However, it turned out to be a hoax.

The police received seven calls from different areas in the city about the presence of suspicious objects while two "mischievous" calls informed that bombs might go off in the secretariat and a hotel in Secunderabad.

Police have picked up three persons for questioning in connection with Saturday's terror attacks in Hyderabad as government today said security
agencies suspect Pakistan-based terror outfits Laskhar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad may be behind the blasts.

Among the three picked up for grilling is Mohd Mustafa, a cycle shop owner, from Bibinagar, about 25km from here. Mustafa allegedly had links with a sleeper cell of a terrorist organisation from whom metal bearing balls used in the bombs were reportedly procured, sources added.