Central and state intelligence officials had precise information about an attack being planned at Bodh Gaya in retaliation for alleged atrocities on Burma’s Rohingiya Muslims. Failure of cordination enabled Sunday’s terror strike to take place at Bodh Gaya despite advance knowledge of the threat with the Union home ministry, and three warnings by both R&AW and the Intelligence Bureau in the past few months. A security review meeting between the state police, IB sleuths and monastery officials took place as recently as July 2.
Information about the ISI-backed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba using the Indian Mujahideen to target the Buddhist shrine was available from October 2012 following the arrest of two IM operatives — Syed Maqbool and Imran — by the Delhi police. The IM duo revealed that their bosses Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal had asked them to recce Bodh Gaya in order to carry out a fidayeen strike on the Buddhist shrines there in revenge over “atrocities” on Rohingya Muslims in Burma.
Also on the IM’s radar was Hyderabad’s Dilsukh Nagar, that was targeted in February this year. Sunday’s Bodh Gaya strike is the second successive attack that occurred despite information about the IM’s plans.