Following the recovery of a pipe bomb on Friday morning along the route of senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s yatra on the outskirts of Madurai, intelligence agencies have now made it mandatory for an advance road clearance team to
sanitise the route. In a fresh advisory to states which will be covered during the second leg of the anti-corruption yatra, the convoy will be allowed to proceed only after the road clearance team has sanitised the route. The Intelligence Bureau had earlier issued a nine-point advisory to all states from where the yatra had to pass.
“Even earlier, we had said the route should be checked thoroughly. But obviously there have been lapses so now we have made it mandatory that one team from the local police will go in advance to sanitise the route along with bomb disposal experts,’’ a senior official said.
Though the Union home ministry has sought a detailed report from the state police on the issue, intelligence sources said prima facie it appears to be the handiwork of Naxals. The Naxals, sources said, have a strong presence in the region where the explosive was found under a culvert. Though the bomb is said to be crude in nature, but intelligence officials said it was strong enough to cause substantial damage as four detonators and two batteries were also recovered from the spot.
“It seems Naxals not only wanted to cause embarrassment to the Central and state security forces by causing this explosion but also show their dominance in the region,’’ the official added. However, tragedy was averted as one of the villagers alerted the local police about wires jutting out of a pipe placed under a bridge along the yatra route.