The February 13 bomb blast in Pune’s German Bakery would probably have claimed many more lives of foreign nationals had the terrorists stuck to their original plan to place the bomb at the Osho Commune. Anti-terrorism squad officers said that the terrorists changed their plan as they found the German Bakery offered them an easier escape route.
“The terrorists had conducted recces at many places in Pune, and found that the German Bakery was the softest target,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria said on Wednesday. According to another ATS officer, Sheikh Lal Baba Mohammed Hussain Fareed alias Bilal and Mirza Himayat Baig, both of whom have been arrested in the case, had conducted a thorough recce of several places in Pune. “They had decided to place a bomb somewhere in the upmarket Koregaon Park area of Pune. Their intention was to place a bomb at a place that is frequented by foreign nationals. The Osho Commune that houses several hundred foreign nationals at any given point of time had been their first choice. But they found that a thorough and detailed procedure is followed by the Commune before anyone is allowed inside the premises. Moreover, leaving the Commune without arousing suspicion would have been tough,” said the officer.
The officer said that another location that was subjected to thorough reconnaissance by the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operatives was the Chabad House in Pune. “The terrorists realised that they would not be able to kill many foreign nationals in the Chabad House, as well as the fact that the sheer number of foreign nationals who frequent the German Bakery during peak hours was far greater. The Chabad House would have been an ideal location,” he said had they wanted to take people hostage,” he said.