Preliminary investigation of the serial bombings at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya by a joint team of the Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency suggest that the blasts might have been carried out by at least a five-member terror module.
Intelligence sources said following sustained questioning of a number of people in and around the temple complex, and by analysing the modus operandi and manner in which the explosives were planted, it appears that at least five people were involved in the operation. The two agencies have informed the home ministry of this in their preliminary investigation report.
Investigations also suggest that the terror module members may have been dressed in saffron clothes to pass off as Buddhist monks when they entered the temple complex late Saturday night to plant the explosives. Both the NIA and IB have managed to get details from at least two eyewitnesses who claim they saw “suspicious movement of people in saffron clothes in and around the temple” late Saturday night.
The world-famous Buddhist shrine reopened to the public with monks from 50 countries holding special prayers on Monday evening even as investigators began questioning a suspect detained in connection with the blasts.
In Patna, Bihar DGP Abhayanand confirmed there were 10 low-intensity bomb blasts in and around the temple complex instead of the eight previously believed. A man named Vinod Mistry was detained after the police found a bag in the temple complex containing his identity card and a monk’s typical uniform, he said. “All the security cameras in the temple complex were working and all the security arrangements were in place. State police personnel and temple security guards were on duty when the blasts happened,” said Mr Abhayanand, dismissing charges of security lapses levelled by political opponents of Bihar’s ruling JD(U). The police, which began examining security footage obtained from nearly 15 CCTV cameras, released footage of one of the blasts and said the explosives used in the bombs had a mix of ammonium nitrate, sulphur and potassium.
The operation, according to the report, had been “meticulously planned” as the terrorists successfully managed to avoid about 20 CCTVs installed in the temple complex. This, sources claim, proves the terrorists had done an extensive recce of the complex and were aware of the exact location of the cameras. Thus the CCTV footage, scanned thoroughly by NIA sleuths, has no visual evidence of the terrorists.
The most significant aspect of the incident, which has baffled the country’s security top brass, is why the terrorists planted the explosives late at night only to be triggered early morning. This defies the usual terror modus operandi where terrorists normally try and inflict maximum damage. So the blasts, security experts feel, should have taken placed in the peak hours of the day when, on average, more than 3,000 tourists, including a large number of foreigners, visit the temple complex. Being a Sunday, the footfall is higher still but the explosions took placed in the early morning.
“This would have happened only if the terror outfits merely wanted to send a signal that they can strike at will and the aim was not to kill people. Maybe they just wanted to convey a strong message, that they can strike despite specific inputs and alerts,” a former top IB official said.
The incident comes soon after a huge controversy between the CBI and IB where the role of senior intelligence officials is under the scanner in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
Even as the blame-game between the Central and state government over the major security lapse continued, the Union home ministry said it had not received any request from the Bihar government for handing the probe to the NIA. The Bihar government, which has been verbally asking the Central government to immediately provide Central security cover for the world-renowned temple, has not made any formal request so far seeking deployment of CISF commandos.
Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said 13 bombs were planted inside the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya of which 10 exploded, injuring two monks. The preliminary forensic report of the NSG, received by the MHA, reveals that low-intensity bombs, kept in cylinders, worked like improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and were triggered by analogue clock timers of the “Lotus” company. The NSG analysis also said splinters were put in the ammonium nitrate, sulphur and potassium emulsion to cause damage to various locations in the temple complex. While the usage of cylinder bombs is a new trend in terror strikes in India, the usage of splinters with ammonium nitrate bears the Indian Mujahideen signature. Moreover, the security brass is also in the process of reviewing the security of other famous Buddhist and Tibetan religious places. “When we receive the request from the Bihar government (for CISF cover), the home ministry will certainly consider it,” an official said, adding no religious place is so far guarded by the CISF but the CRPF does man a few religious sites.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who had visited the temple within hours of the blasts on Sunday and faced protests from Opposition BJP workers, described the incident, the first serial blasts in Bihar, as “extremely condemnable”. Mr Kumar accused the BJP and the JD(U)’s main rival, the RJD, of politicising the blasts and said he had asked the Centre to provide CISF security for the Mahabodhi temple.
“The BJP and the RJD appear to have joined hands. The one step we took (snapping the alliance with the BJP) has exposed them. They have even finalised the seat-sharing arrangement for next year’s election,” said Mr Kumar to reporters after the weekly “janata durbar” at his residence. He called for restraint in public statements over the blasts. He rejected charges by BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi that “weakened governance in Bihar” had contributed to the terror attack.