Chandigarh, November 23
Punjab and Haryana have sounded a general alert following bomb blasts in Uttar Pradesh. Both the states have received an “alert” note from the Union Government asking them to step up vigil, saying that the groups behind bomb blasts in three cities of Uttar Pradesh may try to target innocent people in other parts of the country.

Confirming that Haryana had complied with the directive received from Delhi, Haryana’s ADGP (Law and Order) V.B Singh said all districts had been alerted and asked to keep a watch on any suspicious activity. The Punjab, Haryana on high alert

Centre suspected courts and public places to be the possible target, but they had deployed all available forces in the districts.

Similarly, in Punjab a senior police official said instructions had been passed on to the SHO level through district police chiefs to send out police personnel at various places, specially markets, bus stands, railways stations and other public places, to make their presence felt and keep a close watch on any “abnormal” activity.

Mumbai, November 23
Shortly after the co-ordinated blasts in Uttar Pradesh this afternoon, there was panic in Mumbai after a phone call informed the authorities about a bomb-laden truck coming from Goa to Mumbai.

The police said the caller warned the Goa police on Wednesday of such a truck being dispatched by some terror groups from Goa. Mumbai senior police officer K P Raghuvanshi who heads the Anti-Terror Squad said the caller was arrested immediately by the local police.

Some media outlets reported that the caller had warned of the truck exploding its deadly cargo at the Siddhivinayak Temple in central Mumbai.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened across Maharashtra following today’s blasts. Maharashtra’s director-general of police P S Pasricha said the police force had been placed on alert.

Lucknow, November 23
“My government had no prior information of any possible terrorist attack. We had not been alerted,” said Chief Minister Mayawati blaming the “complete failure of the central intelligence” for the serial bomb blasts in three cities of the state.

Briefing the media Mayawati condemned the attack calling it a “planned conspiracy” by terrorists. Recounting the sequence of events she however, claimed that none of the guilty would be spared as the task of investigation had been handed over to the Special Task Force.

Sharing details of her government’s response, she said the Chief Secretary P.K Mishra had been rushed to Varanasi. DGP Vikram Singh had made an on-the-spot review of the Lucknow blast site before leaving for Faizabad along with ADG Law and Order Brij Lal.

Making an appeal to the people of the state to remain calm and maintain harmony, Mayawati said this would not only be the most befitting reply to the nefarious design of terrorists but would also help the state government in carrying out its task of investigation.

She flew to Faizabad and Varanasi where she was expected to make a first hand review of the situation and meet with the injured at the hospital.

Expressing concern over the blasts in the three cities state Governor T.V Rajeswar, in an official statement, condemned the incidents and said it was a deliberate step to disturb the law and order situation and peace and communal harmony in the state.

He also appealed to the people to maintain peace and maintain the tradition of tolerance.

Lucknow, November 23
Chief Minister Mayawati may not be having prior information of the blasts. Yet hours later there was little semblance of alertness in the Lucknow civil court as hundreds of people crowded the site to see the anti-bomb squad diffuse a live bomb.

There was no cordoning off of the area and traffic continued to flow till the news of yet another live bomb spread. Even this information did not sent a wave of fear. The road between the Lucknow civil court and the Balrampur district hospital, barely a stone’s throw from the historic Residency, had a “mela like” atmosphere.