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India News > National
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After hitting New York, Madrid and London, terrorists raised their ugly head in Delhi on Saturday, Oct. 29, killing about 70 people. The national capital was shell-shocked by the serial blasts which shattered the complacency of the law and order machinery and also made the country wake up to the danger posed by terrorism, widely perceived to be promoted by organisations based in Pakistan and supported by sections of that countrys Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The terrorists set off two bomb explosions in quick succession in crowded areas of the national capital leading to the death of about 70 innocent civilians. A third bomb which was planted in a state owned bus, did not do much damage as it was thrown out by the driver and the conductor. The terrorists are suspected to have used improvised explosive devices (IED) for the blasts. No terrorist outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the incident, but Lashkar-e-Taiba or some of its offshoots associated with militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, are being looked at as the main suspects. The involvement of Babbar Khalsa, which has been trying to revive itself in Punjab, in the explosions is also not ruled out. box item How Delhis festive mood was shattered Delhiites could have never imagined that their festive spirit would be shattered in such a way by terrorists. The first explosion took place around 5.25 p.m. at Paharganj, in Central Delhi, the second in a bus at 5.40 p.m. at Govindpuri in South Delhi, and the third and most powerful took place at 5.45 p.m. at the busy market of Sarojini Nagar, also in South Delhi. An explosive device was defused outside the State Bank of Bikaner at the historic Chandni Chowk in the walled city area. At Sarojini Nagar, it is suspected that the bomb was planted inside a Maruti van parked near shops. Within seconds, half a dozen cloth shops went up in flames. Subsequently, a couple of gas cylinders exploded at a juice and chaat (a snack) shop. The festive mood at the bustling market place gave way to chaos as people fled fearing more explosions. Such was the impact of the blast that some shops just crumbled. At least 40 people died while scores were injured in the blast. The bomb that rocked the Paharganj main bazaar is suspected to have been planted in a motorcycle or a rickshaw parked near a jewelry shop. People scattered in panic as smoke swirled from the blast site. Eyewitnesses said the jewelry outlet and adjoining shops took the impact. There were pools of blood on the road with body parts strewn around. Local traders with the help of the police rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. According to police sources, at least 25 people were killed and over 45 injured in this blast. Four bodies, including that of a child, were burnt beyond recognition. The explosion in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus near the Kalkaji Depot injured six persons, including the driver and the conductor. Eyewitnesses said the passengers sounded an alert after they spotted an unclaimed bag under a seat. After stopping the bus, the driver picked up the bag, triggering the explosion. Box ends here- PM cuts short visit to West Bengal, condemns incidents The Prime Minister who was on a visit to West Bengal, cut short his trip and returned to the capital. In a statement, he said that the coordinated blasts set off within minutes of each other are an act of terrorism. He said that the country would not be cowed down by such incidents. This kind of cynical attacks on the people of India is just not acceptable, said the Prime Minister. Soon after the Prime Ministers return, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, National Security Adviser M.K. Naraynan, Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi and Home Secretary V.K. Duggal met him and briefed him on the situation. The Prime Minister convened a meeting of the Crisis Management Group late on Saturday night to review the situation resulting from the terrorist attack on the national capital. In Box- No impact on peace dialogue with Pakistan National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan after attending the National Crisis Management Group meeting said that though the incident was reprehensible, it will not affect the on going peace talks with Pakistan. Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi said that there was definite evidence with the security agencies and investigations are on. Preliminary investigations point towards two possible causative factors. First the change of guard in Jammu and Kashmir where Ghulam Nabi Azad will be taking over as Chief Minister from Mufti Mohd. Sayeed. Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest terrorist group active in the Kashmir Valley, is reportedly not happy over the development and may have provided logistics for the bomb explosions. Second, there are inputs that Lashkar-e-Taiba has been thirsting for revenge after the elimination of its suicide squad in Ayodhya earlier this year. Another factor which may have led to the terrorists striking at this time was the sentence to be pronounced on the seven people found guilty in the Red Fort attack case. Additional Sessions Judge O.P. Saini was to pronounce the sentence on Saturday, Oct. 29, but deferred it till Monday, Oct. 31. There are reports that the militants wanted to convey the message that they can strike at will if they are so inclined. Box ends here Intelligence agencies say the Saturday blasts were carried out by terrorist outfits based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. They were desperate to make their presence felt after the earthquake, an officer said. Dr. Manmohan Singh asked all sections of society to remain calm and extend fullest cooperation to the agencies engaged in fighting terrorist elements. He said the attempts to spread chaos and disturb peace by such forces would not be allowed to succeed at any cost. The target is clearly the innocent citizens. Efforts to spread chaos and disturb peace will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. The government is determined to defeat nefarious designs of terrorist elements, he said in his message. Dr. Manmohan Singh, said that perpetrators of these heinous acts would be dealt with firmly. President A.P.J Abdul Kalam also condemned the blasts in Delhi. Home Minister Shivraj Patil who visited the injured at the hospitals appealed to the people to remain calm. The most important thing now is to help people who have suffered in these blasts. Condemning the serial blasts, UPA Chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi said terrorism is a menace that has to be fought unitedly. She added : Terrorism is not unique to our country. It is everywhere in the world, and we have to fight it with all our might. Expressing his deep concern at the coordinated blasts in the capital, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said : The country stood united in the war against terrorism. BJP President L.K. Advani also visited the hospitals and the blast sites and appealed to the people to maintain calm and order. He condemned the blasts on the eve of Deepavali and Id that disrupted normal life. Lok Sabha Speaker and Communist leader, Somnath Chatterjee described the blasts as an inhuman act. The politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the terrorist attack was reprehensible as it occurred during festival time in markets which were crowded. It said the Government should spare no effort to track down the culprits and take all precautionary measures to prevent such attacks. While strongly condemning the blasts, CPI secretary D. Raja asked the people to show resilience and face the crisis and challenge posed by terrorists. In Box - Intelligence failure ? Observers say that Saturdays serial blasts a few months after the twin blasts in cinema halls in Delhi and the way terrorists used the city to launch an attack in Ayodhya earlier this year show that security agencies need to work harder to avert such attacks. The incident has exposed Delhi Polices lack of coordination with Central intelligence agencies. Highly placed sources said the attack on the city is a major intelligence failure, coming in the midst of the festival season. The Delhi Police had been given specific intelligence inputs which stated that the capital was vulnerable to terrorist attacks. However, there seems to be a lack of understanding over this issue, said a senior officer who did not want to be named. The officer said the threat issue was specifically discussed at a recent meeting chaired by Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul. But nothing seems to have come of it, he added. The increasing number of terrorists being arrested from the city and the high quantity of explosives being seized from them should have alerted the law enforcing agencies of a major planned strike on the city, he added. The use of TNT and RDX-based IEDs reveals a well planned and extensively funded attack. These terrorists must have been in the city days in advance to plan such an extensive assault and the Delhi Police has totally failed to check them, he said. This year also saw many terrorists and their conduits being arrested which shows that the terrorist organisations based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir - Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Jihad - have been using Delhi as their base as well as a launch pad for operations in different parts of the country. Box item ends here - National Disaster Response Force to be set up A National Disaster Response Force will be set up to tackle situations arising from different types of disasters with state-of-the-art gadgets. Comprising eight battalions from the Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Border Security Force, the new force would be positioned at eight locations in different parts of the country. N. Vinod Chandra Menon, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said in Chennai that the authority was currently holding talks with State Governments on various issues concerning disaster management. Some states had formed disaster management authorities at their level. We hope that with the adoption of the National Management Bill in the winter session of Parliament, additional emphasis will be given to the constitution of such bodies in all the states. We are also advising the States to form their own disaster response forces.
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