Terror struck the Capital again on Wednesday when a high-intensity blast outside the Delhi High Court claimed 11 lives and injured 76 people. The toll is likely to rise.
The bomb, suspected to be placed in a briefcase, exploded at 10-14 a.m. near Gate No 5 when around 200 people were waiting to get entry passes. The deafening explosion left a small crater at the site. Sources said no CCTV had been installed in the area.
In May, the High Court was targeted when a low-intensity bomb went off in the parking lot. No one was injured in that explosion. The Special Secretary (Internal Security), Mr U. K. Bansal, said the preliminary probe indicated the possible use of nitrate-based explosives laced with PETN (pentaerythritol trinitrate). The probe is now being handled by a 20-member National Investigation Agency (NIA) team.
The Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said the blast was of “high intensity” and called it a “terrorist act”. He said intelligence pertaining to threats from certain groups was shared with the Delhi Police in July.
Some media houses claimed to have received a mail purportedly written by Bangladesh-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) claiming responsibility.
Appealing to people to fight the scourge unitedly, the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said the country would not succumb to pressure from terrorism. The Prime Minister sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the seriously injured.
In a significant move, the Chief Justice of India, Mr S. H. Kapadia, reviewed the security arrangements at the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and other court complexes. He visited the blast site and only briefly adjourned the court proceedings.
In contrast, both Houses of Parliament adjourned for the day after news of the blast came in. The Opposition, including the BJP and the Left, condemned the blasts and took the Government to task for “intelligence failure” and not strengthening security despite the May “dry-runs”.
Training guns at Mr Chidambaram, the Opposition said six terror attacks had taken place since he took office and none of these had been solved.