Bandh, fear, confusion in Varanasi after blasts

Bandh, fear, confusion in Varanasi after blasts

by Girish Kumar Dubey

     Varanasi: An atmosphere of fear and confusion is prevailing in the temple town of Varanasi, a day after a series of bomb blasts killed over 12 people and injured more 50 others. Anticipating trouble and a possible political fallout from the blasts, local authorities in Varanasi have ordered the shutting down of all schools and colleges, besides business establishments. With the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) announcing plans for a state-wide shutdown, including in Varanasi, security forces from areas bordering the temple town have been rushed in to prevent any untoward incident or law and order problem. The VHP shutdown call has been announced by its local chief, Kameshwar Upadhyay.

    Informed sources confirmed that 13 companies of the elite Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed across the temple town, and especially near the Sankat Mochan Temple and the Varanasi Cantonement Railway Station, the spots where the blasts took place on Tuesday evening. Police and paramilitary contingents from the neighbouring towns of Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Badhoi and Mirzapur have been called in to help the local police and the RAF maintain law and order. Roads leading into and out of Varanasi have been closed to traffic with the authorities not willing to take any chances. A host of political leaders have started descending on the temple town to inquire after the welfare of the injured, who have been admitted to the Benares Hindu Hospital, the Heritage Hospital and the Singh Medical Research Hospital. They will also be briefed about the latest security situation arising in the wake of the blasts. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav arrived in Varanasi at 9.30 a.m. this morning to review the overall situation. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, besides Union Home Secretary V.K.Duggal arrived in the temple town late last night. Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and senior BJP leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh will arrive here after noon. They are expected to mobilise their party workers into offering help to the families of the injured. The authorities are anticipating political-related trouble.

    There were at least two high-intensity blasts that rocked the renowned Sankatmochan Temple and the Cantonment Railway Station in Varanasi on Tuesday evening. The Director General of Railway Protection Force, A K Suri, said there was a third blast at the holding area of the platform at the Varanasi Railway Station. The blasts occurred between 1700 hours and 1830 hours (IST). At least 20 deaths were confirmed at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. The explosions set off a near-stampede situation as devotees scrambled to rush out to safety. Workers at the temple ferried injured persons, which included several old women, to the hospital. The worst casualties were reported from the railway station, where 14 people were reported killed and 30 others injured. A powerful bomb was placed outside the waiting room at around 6.25 a.m. on Platform No 1, where Delhi-bound Shivaganga express train was waiting for passengers to board, official sources said. The blast at the railway station was so powerful that it has created a one-foot deep crater and smashed window panes and wooden structures all around. The area is still splattered with blood and scattered with body parts and passengers' belongings soaked in blood. Four live bombs were also disarmed near Dashaswhamedh Ghat, about two kilometres away from the Kashi Vishwanath temple. After the balsts, the Shivaganga train was thoroughly checked before it was declard safe and resumed its journey to Delhi. A bomb squad later defused another explosive at the Gudauliya market in the vicinity. The Sankatmochan temple has been closed and all entry and exit points of Varanasi have been sealed. While police initially attributed the explosion to a cooking gas cylinder blast, intelligence sources confirmed sophisticated explosive devices had been used in the blasts. Sources said Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba was involved in the blasts.