Mahabodhi temple blast injures two
Gaya: Two people were injured on Sunday, July 7, morning in a bomb attack on the Buddhist Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodhgaya, leaving signs of a security lapse and raising concerns about the safety of India's key places of worship.
Nine bomb blasts in a coordinated terror attack left government and administration squirming for explanations as media reports pointed out repeated intelligence alerts from security agencies that apparently went unheeded.
“It does seem like a terror attack... No (terrorist) outfit has claimed responsibility,” Union Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said about blasts that struck between 5:30 and 5:58 am.
The temple, visited by Buddhists from all over the world for the Bodhi tree under which Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, did not sustain critical damage, officials said.
Four blasts took place inside the Mahabodhi temple complex and three occurred at the Terega monastery, while one each were triggered near an 80-feet-tall Buddha statue and a vacant tourist bus parked close to the temple complex.
Police also said that two bombs were defused in the town and a third in a nearby village.
Vilsagga, 30, a student monk from Myanmar, and Tenzing Dorjee, 60, a retired soldier who now supervises a Tibetan monastery, suffered serious injuries in the blast.
Security was beefed up at the temple - a UNESCO World Heritage site - and surrounding areas even as media reports said police had warned temple authorities about inadequate measures just days ago.
Intelligence inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that two terrorists, brothers originally from Bihar but based abroad in recent years, had entered the state to carry out terror attacks.
The temple is also said to have been in the target of Pakistan-based terrorists seeking to avenge the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar.
Investigators were also probing links of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to the attack as it came a year after the Delhi Police claimed to have foiled a suicide attack on the temple by the group.
A National Investigating Agency (NIA) team arrived in Bodh Gaya to probe the attack, a police officer said.
The five-member NIA team comprising a DIG and two SPs arrived by a special plane from New Delhi and drove straight to the Mahabodhi temple to start investigations.
Police are also probing links of a man arrested with explosives to the Indian Mujahideen late Saturday in Kolkata, officials said.
"Anwar Hussain Mullick, 42, was arrested from a bus stop in the heart of the city late on Saturday evening with explosives and fake Indian currency notes," a senior police official was quoted as saying.
The attack on Sunday drew condemnation from all corners as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar decried the strike.
Kumar on Sunday visited blast site and said strict action will be taken against those behind the attack.
"Bodh Gaya is an important religious spot. We condemn this incident," Kumar told reporters on Sunday.
Kumar urged people to 'stay united' and face the situation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said such attacks on religious places will not be tolerated.
Condemning the serial blasts as a 'cowardly' act, Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed hope that the guilty will be brought to book at the earliest.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and and other parties accused the Centre and the Bihar government of having failed to take steps to avert the terror strike despite getting timely warnings.
"It is a serious issue that central agencies had warned about this attack and given specific inputs that Bodh Gaya would be attacked and still no proper arrangements were made (by the state government). The central government must also take responsibility to avoid such attacks," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
Bihar BJP leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said no measures were taken to prevent the attack despite intelligence tip off and said the Centre and the state governments cannot escape the responsibility for the blasts.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad put the entire blame on the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) government in the state.
"If intelligence inputs were given about possible attacks, the Bihar government has to take the full responsibility," he said.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama meanwhile termed the attack as "unfortunate" and said "few individuals" could be behind the strike.
Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said, "I am deeply saddened to learn about the series of bomb blasts at Mahabodhi temple. My prayers for the injured and their family members."
Gaya: Two people were injured on Sunday, July 7, morning in a bomb attack on the Buddhist Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodhgaya, leaving signs of a security lapse and raising concerns about the safety of India's key places of worship. Nine bomb blasts in a coordinated terror attack left government...
Gaya: Two people were injured on Sunday, July 7, morning in a bomb attack on the Buddhist Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodhgaya, leaving signs of a security lapse and raising concerns about the safety of India's key places of worship.
Nine bomb blasts in a coordinated terror attack left government and administration squirming for explanations as media reports pointed out repeated intelligence alerts from security agencies that apparently went unheeded.
“It does seem like a terror attack... No (terrorist) outfit has claimed responsibility,” Union Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said about blasts that struck between 5:30 and 5:58 am.
The temple, visited by Buddhists from all over the world for the Bodhi tree under which Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, did not sustain critical damage, officials said.
Four blasts took place inside the Mahabodhi temple complex and three occurred at the Terega monastery, while one each were triggered near an 80-feet-tall Buddha statue and a vacant tourist bus parked close to the temple complex.
Police also said that two bombs were defused in the town and a third in a nearby village.
Vilsagga, 30, a student monk from Myanmar, and Tenzing Dorjee, 60, a retired soldier who now supervises a Tibetan monastery, suffered serious injuries in the blast.
Security was beefed up at the temple - a UNESCO World Heritage site - and surrounding areas even as media reports said police had warned temple authorities about inadequate measures just days ago.
Intelligence inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that two terrorists, brothers originally from Bihar but based abroad in recent years, had entered the state to carry out terror attacks.
The temple is also said to have been in the target of Pakistan-based terrorists seeking to avenge the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar.
Investigators were also probing links of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to the attack as it came a year after the Delhi Police claimed to have foiled a suicide attack on the temple by the group.
A National Investigating Agency (NIA) team arrived in Bodh Gaya to probe the attack, a police officer said.
The five-member NIA team comprising a DIG and two SPs arrived by a special plane from New Delhi and drove straight to the Mahabodhi temple to start investigations.
Police are also probing links of a man arrested with explosives to the Indian Mujahideen late Saturday in Kolkata, officials said.
"Anwar Hussain Mullick, 42, was arrested from a bus stop in the heart of the city late on Saturday evening with explosives and fake Indian currency notes," a senior police official was quoted as saying.
The attack on Sunday drew condemnation from all corners as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar decried the strike.
Kumar on Sunday visited blast site and said strict action will be taken against those behind the attack.
"Bodh Gaya is an important religious spot. We condemn this incident," Kumar told reporters on Sunday.
Kumar urged people to 'stay united' and face the situation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said such attacks on religious places will not be tolerated.
Condemning the serial blasts as a 'cowardly' act, Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed hope that the guilty will be brought to book at the earliest.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and and other parties accused the Centre and the Bihar government of having failed to take steps to avert the terror strike despite getting timely warnings.
"It is a serious issue that central agencies had warned about this attack and given specific inputs that Bodh Gaya would be attacked and still no proper arrangements were made (by the state government). The central government must also take responsibility to avoid such attacks," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
Bihar BJP leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said no measures were taken to prevent the attack despite intelligence tip off and said the Centre and the state governments cannot escape the responsibility for the blasts.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad put the entire blame on the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) government in the state.
"If intelligence inputs were given about possible attacks, the Bihar government has to take the full responsibility," he said.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama meanwhile termed the attack as "unfortunate" and said "few individuals" could be behind the strike.
Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said, "I am deeply saddened to learn about the series of bomb blasts at Mahabodhi temple. My prayers for the injured and their family members."
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