A low intensity blast ripped through the famous Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi during evening prayers, killing a two-year-old girl and injuring around 25 persons, including a couple of foreigners.
Home Secretary G K Pillai said the government believes that the blast, which also led to a stampede, was a terrorist strike. Some people were injured in the stampede, local police said.
Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brijlal said in Lucknow that the blast took place due to “some explosive material” kept on the steps.
Within minutes of the bomb blast, Indian Mujahidden, a terrorist organisation, claimed responsibility for the attack. In an email to media organisations, the group linked this plot with the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed for calm and asked the home ministry to submit a detailed report on the blast. “It is the most unfortunate incident. It was an attempt to weaken our resolve to fight the evil forces of terrorism and the terrorists will not succeed,” said Singh.
The home ministry has announced red alert in several cities — Mumbai, Varanasi, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur, Bnagalore and Ahmedabad.
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The blast took place at around 6.20 pm when thousands of devotees and some foreign tourists had assembled at the Dashashwamedh ghat for a darshan of the Ganga Arti ritual.
Sources in the home ministry said although an alert was issued to all the states before the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, there was no specific threat alert given to Varanasi.
Indian Mujahideen draws its strength from banned organisation SIMI and HuJI whose cadres form the terrorist organisation. The terror outfit is responsible for carrying out serial blasts in Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The recent blast occurred just two kilometers away from the Sankatmochan Temple which was allegedly targeted by the same terrorist group in 2006.
“The bomb was placed on the stairs of the ghat and forensic experts have gathered explosive material from the site of the blast,” Brijlal, additional director general (Law and Order) said.