07-27-2008, 02:37 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b> 2 cities 2 days 24 explosions </b>
RK Misra | Ahmedabad
Day after B'lore, 16 blasts kill 29 in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad witnessed a bloody Saturday with 16 explosions in 70 minutes killing 29 and injuring 100 just a day similar blasts rocked Bangalore. Â
The weekend was rudely cut short by the first blast at 6.45 pm in Maninagar, Chief Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, and then continued from the fringes to the heart of the city. The targeting of Ahmedabad speaks of precise planning aimed at creating widespread panic.
The toll is expected to climb with many battling for life in hospitals. Reports said <b>two doctors treating patients at Civil Hospital also died in a blast at the facility. </b>
Amid all the gore, concerned citizens queued up at hospitals to donate blood. Chief Minister Narendra Modi, appealed to the people to remain calm and united in the face of provocation. "The time has come to get ready for the protracted and long battle against forces inimical to the country. Unity is essential for it", he said, terming the Saturday mayhem a terrorist attack on India.
The blasts came shortly after an email warning by the Indian Mujahideen outfit sent to a private TV channel daring the administration.
Officials described the blasts as low intensity but the clear targeting of crowded areas with the first and second one within five minutes talked of precision planning.
Beginning from Maninagar, the blasts rocked Hatkeshwar Circle, Bapunagar, Narol, Ishanpur, Sarangpur Bridge, Sarkhej, Raipur, Civil Hospital, LG Hospital and Vastrapur. Each of these areas witnessed two to three blasts.
<b>The explosions came within minutes of a TV channel receiving an e-mail from the ID, alarabi.gujarat@ yahoo.com</b>, which warned of blasts within minutes and dared the administration to avert them if it could. The e-mail was signed 'Indian Mujahideen'. An emergency meeting of the State Cabinet was convened by Modi even as Home Secretary Balwant Singh and DGP PC Pandey went into a late night huddle.
<b>Twenty ambulances have been placed at strategic locations to rush the injured to hospitals without loss of time and barriers have sprung up at entry points to the city. Forensic teams have fanned out to the blast locations to piece together the evidence.</b>
As innocent blood spilled the streets, there was widespread panic with hospitals and even police stations being targeted. Mobile networks were jammed as people sought to contact their near and dear ones.
The explosives were kept in tiffin boxes strapped to bicycles which were placed at crowded locations, designed to cause maximum damage.
An Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service bus was selected in the minorities' dominated Sarkhej. The blast was calculated to turn the vehicle into an inferno but even though it's flank was ripped apart by the explosion,t here was only one casualty
In Narol, the explosive bicycle was placed near the hanuman temple, where devotees throng on Saturday evening. However, the blast here came a bit earlier in the day keeping the casualty low.
Knowing that the injured would be rushed to either the Civil Hospital or the L G Municipal Hospital in Maninagar, the culprits triggered blasts in both facilities sending waves of panic.
While one blast occurred near the trauma centre at Civil Hospital, the other took place in L G Hospital.
The diamond market in Bapunagar was selected as people converge near the bus stand in the evening to exchange notes on the day's business. There were two blasts here: One near the bus stand and another, minutes later, about 200 metres from the spot.
<i>The latest terrorist act has again highlighted the need for a firm and effective anti-terrorist legal framework. The Gujarat Assembly has passed a law on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. It is pending with the President for assent for four years. A similar legislation for Rajasthan is also awaiting the President's assent. I demand the Union Government immediately recommend Presidential assent to these two legislations, whose need has been underscored by the repeal of POTA
-- BJP leader LK Advani
We will review the security situation on Sunday at 11 am. Let's not play the blame game. The Centre will be extending all help to the Gujarat Government
-- Home Minister Shivraj Patil</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
RK Misra | Ahmedabad
Day after B'lore, 16 blasts kill 29 in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad witnessed a bloody Saturday with 16 explosions in 70 minutes killing 29 and injuring 100 just a day similar blasts rocked Bangalore. Â
The weekend was rudely cut short by the first blast at 6.45 pm in Maninagar, Chief Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, and then continued from the fringes to the heart of the city. The targeting of Ahmedabad speaks of precise planning aimed at creating widespread panic.
The toll is expected to climb with many battling for life in hospitals. Reports said <b>two doctors treating patients at Civil Hospital also died in a blast at the facility. </b>
Amid all the gore, concerned citizens queued up at hospitals to donate blood. Chief Minister Narendra Modi, appealed to the people to remain calm and united in the face of provocation. "The time has come to get ready for the protracted and long battle against forces inimical to the country. Unity is essential for it", he said, terming the Saturday mayhem a terrorist attack on India.
The blasts came shortly after an email warning by the Indian Mujahideen outfit sent to a private TV channel daring the administration.
Officials described the blasts as low intensity but the clear targeting of crowded areas with the first and second one within five minutes talked of precision planning.
Beginning from Maninagar, the blasts rocked Hatkeshwar Circle, Bapunagar, Narol, Ishanpur, Sarangpur Bridge, Sarkhej, Raipur, Civil Hospital, LG Hospital and Vastrapur. Each of these areas witnessed two to three blasts.
<b>The explosions came within minutes of a TV channel receiving an e-mail from the ID, alarabi.gujarat@ yahoo.com</b>, which warned of blasts within minutes and dared the administration to avert them if it could. The e-mail was signed 'Indian Mujahideen'. An emergency meeting of the State Cabinet was convened by Modi even as Home Secretary Balwant Singh and DGP PC Pandey went into a late night huddle.
<b>Twenty ambulances have been placed at strategic locations to rush the injured to hospitals without loss of time and barriers have sprung up at entry points to the city. Forensic teams have fanned out to the blast locations to piece together the evidence.</b>
As innocent blood spilled the streets, there was widespread panic with hospitals and even police stations being targeted. Mobile networks were jammed as people sought to contact their near and dear ones.
The explosives were kept in tiffin boxes strapped to bicycles which were placed at crowded locations, designed to cause maximum damage.
An Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service bus was selected in the minorities' dominated Sarkhej. The blast was calculated to turn the vehicle into an inferno but even though it's flank was ripped apart by the explosion,t here was only one casualty
In Narol, the explosive bicycle was placed near the hanuman temple, where devotees throng on Saturday evening. However, the blast here came a bit earlier in the day keeping the casualty low.
Knowing that the injured would be rushed to either the Civil Hospital or the L G Municipal Hospital in Maninagar, the culprits triggered blasts in both facilities sending waves of panic.
While one blast occurred near the trauma centre at Civil Hospital, the other took place in L G Hospital.
The diamond market in Bapunagar was selected as people converge near the bus stand in the evening to exchange notes on the day's business. There were two blasts here: One near the bus stand and another, minutes later, about 200 metres from the spot.
<i>The latest terrorist act has again highlighted the need for a firm and effective anti-terrorist legal framework. The Gujarat Assembly has passed a law on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. It is pending with the President for assent for four years. A similar legislation for Rajasthan is also awaiting the President's assent. I demand the Union Government immediately recommend Presidential assent to these two legislations, whose need has been underscored by the repeal of POTA
-- BJP leader LK Advani
We will review the security situation on Sunday at 11 am. Let's not play the blame game. The Centre will be extending all help to the Gujarat Government
-- Home Minister Shivraj Patil</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->