 |
|
Hyderabad Blasts Hyderabad, August 26 “As things stand today, the available information points towards terrorist groups of Pakistan and Bangladesh,” Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy said after an emergency cabinet meeting, which condemned the blasts as “cowardly act by external terror groups inimical to India’s growth.” Rejecting the argument that the near-simultaneous bombings at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar were result of intelligence failure, he said international terror outfits generally execute such strikes and the state governments do not have the wherewithal to keep an eye on such operations. The Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of those killed and a government job to one member of the families who lost their bread earners. The government also announced Rs.20,000 for each of the injured and free treatment at corporate hospitals. After an all-party meeting, state home minister K. Jana Reddy said the government was planning to revive A P Control of Organised Crimes Act (APCOCA), with some changes, to check the terrorist menace. APCOCA was brought by the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in 2001 but was allowed to lapse following criticism from civil liberties groups and the opposition, which termed the law as draconian. An expert committee, with senior officials, will also be set up to exclusively deal with terrorist activities. As many as 30 bodies have been identified so far, including seven engineering students from Nashik in Maharashtra, two railway policemen from Madhya Pradesh, six women and three children. The bodies of engineering students, who became victims of terror strike at Lumbini Park while on excursion, were sent to Pune by a special flight. The investigations got underway with the arrival of CBI and forensic teams from Delhi and Mumbai, respectively. The
preliminary probe suggested that high-intensity explosives with timer devices were used, police officials said. M.L. Kumawat, special secretary (internal security), union ministry of home affairs, who has been sent by the centre to coordinate with various agencies, said investigations were on to find out the nature of explosives used. The police sources said “Neo Gel 90”, a class II explosive consisting of slurry and emulsifier, could have been used in the explosions. A team of forensic experts from National Security Guards (NSG) also visited the sites to gather clues. “It is premature to say which terror group is involved before the investigations are completed,” Kumavat told reporters at Gokul Chat, a popular eatery where 32 people died. Another 10 people were killed in the blast at Lumbini Park, located opposite the state secretariat overlooking the picturesque Hussain Sagar Lake. The police is suspecting the involvement of the Bangladesh-based Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami (HUJI) and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed. The sleeper cells of the two terror groups could have triggered the blasts. Union home minister Shivraj Patil flew in here to take stock of the situation. Speaking to reporters after visiting the blast sites and consoling the injured, Patil ruled out revival of POTA as demanded by BJP leader L.K. Advani earlier in the day. “Terrorist attacks had occurred even when POTA was in force,” he reminded and said coordinated efforts by the centre and the states should be made to effectively counter the threat from terror groups. Refusing to hazard a guess on who could be involved in yesterday’s explosions, he said, “The information is available in bits and pieces. Let the investigations come to conclusion” Patil assured all necessary help to the state government in maintaining law and order. Earlier, Advani also visited the bombing sites and met the injured at hospitals. He accused the UPA government of going soft on terrorist elements and demanded that POTA should be brought back to send a strong message to perpetrators of cross-border terrorism.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hyderabad Blasts
Hyderabad/Pune, August 26 The students from Amritvahini Engineering College of Sangamner town in Ahmednagar district were watching a laser show at the park when a blast ripped through it. The students were originally scheduled to leave for Sangamner last night but changed their plans so that they could watch the laser show. Eleven of the injured students are now being treated at Mediciti Hospital in Hyderabad and two of them are in a serious condition, hospital sources said. Two others are likely to be discharged soon, they said. The dead students, who were studying industrial electronics at Amritvahini College, were identified as Irshad Ahmed (from Mumbai), Saurabh Kumar (from Pune), Sachin Bhanvar, Rupesh Bhor, Milind Mandge (all from Sangamner), Sujit Jha (from Darbhanga in Bihar) and Kiran Choudhary (from Kalyan). Their bodies were flown to Pune this evening. The students, accompanied by four faculty members, had left for the industrial tour by a private bus on August 23. Maharashtra's agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat, who is on Amritvahini College's board of directors, rushed to Hyderabad to meet the students. — PTI
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
PM moots permanent relief fund
for terror victims New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tonight suggested setting up of a permanent fund for providing relief to victims of terror attacks as he reviewed the security situation in the wake of the Hyderabad blasts. The suggestion came during a meeting chaired by him at his residence during which home minister Shivraj Patil apprised him of the situation in Hyderabad.
— PTI
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
