Blast suspect killed

Identified as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba member; security beefed up in temples beefed up.

A day after more than 20 people lost their lives in bomb blasts in Varanasi, the central and state government swung into action with a heavy hand to prevent a backlash elsewhere in the country.

Almost all major temples across the country - from Dakshineshwar and Kalighat in West Bengal to Dwarika and Somnath in Gujarat, from Vaishno Devi and Baijnath temples in North to the Palani temple at Coimbatore - were swaddled in security cover and a red alert was issued virtually throughout the country. State police forces were asked to be extra vigilant about Islamic extremist activity in their regions.

No organisation had claimed responsibility 24 hours after the blast, but police sources in Kashmir confirmed that a militant who was shot dead in an encounter on the outskirts of Lucknow was indeed an activist of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.

The police identified the militant as Salar alias Doctor and did not rule out his involvement in yesterday's blasts. RDX and some detonators were found in his possession after the encounter with the Special Task Force (STF), police sources said.

How edgy India was, was clear from the speed with which rumours spread. The mere mention of a possible blast saw shopkeepers down shutters in Moulviganj, Lucknow, an area which had seen violence after the Bush visit.

One person was killed in Moulviganj leading to a shutdown, though police were not sure the killing was communal or out of personal enmity.

People were seen running about on the main roads and traffic came to a halt as the rumour gained ground. However, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Meanwhile, two persons were killed in an encounter at the Delhi-Haryana border. While one of the killed was a Bangladeshi national the other was an Indian, police said.

The duo were involved in carrying out a suicide attack at the STF headquarters of Hyderabad police in October last year, they said.

In Varanasi, a traumatised populace of the temple town began coming to grips with a heavy police presence and a near total bandh (declared by the BJP soon after the incident). The streets were empty, traffic thin and shops and offices closed.

Heavy security was in seen at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque, the temple-mosque compound that has a common boundary wall. Schools and colleges were also closed.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in a television statement a bomb inside a pressure cooker, which had ammonium nitrate and a timer device, was used to trigger the blast in Sankatmochan temple.

"Casualties at the temple were less and more lives were lost at the Cantonment railway station," he said.

In the UP Assembly, the opposition demanded it's pound of flesh. The Assembly was adjourned for an hour as agitated BJP-BSP members raised anti-government slogans and stormed into the well of the House protesting against the blasts.

Later, at a press conference, a sombre Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said the blasts were the work of Pakistan-based terrorists' He said the state government and the Centre would work together to solve the case.

Yadav said he was getting full co-operation from the Centre and also commended Patil for evincing deep concern over the tragedy.

On the opposition's demand for the dismissal of his government, Yadav said there must not be any attempt to gain mileage out of acts of terror.

On being asked about AICC President Sonia Gandhi's visit to the city late last night, Yadav said, "she did right by rushing immediately" but hastened to add that state PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav had arrived before her.