New Delhi: Close on the heels of the Ajmer bomb blast on Oct 10, in which two people died, another terror attack hit the city of Ludhiana on Oct 14, when an explosion took place in Shringar cinema hall. Six people died in this attack, while several were injured.
It was not immediately known what caused the explosion in the hall in the multiplex in Samrala road which was teeming with hundreds of people on a festive Sunday evening. Police did not rule out the hand of terrorists in the blast but said the casualties could go up. Chandrashekar, ADGP (Law and Order) said the blast appeared to have been caused by a bomb.
DIG Ludhiana Ishwar Singh said six people had died and over 25 injured, half of whom were critical. Low intensity explosives were used, N P Singh said, adding it is too early to name any terror outfit that could be behind the blast.
The blast took place under a seat in the third row of second block of the theatre at around 8:40 pm. The injured were taken to CMC hospital and other hospitals. A day after the attack, Punjab police claimed to have got some "vital clues" in the Ludhiana cinema hall bomb blast in which six people were killed and 25 others were injured.
"We have got vital clues in the case," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Chandrasekhar told PTI while adding that revealing details would hamper investigations. He said that a dedicated team, under the command of DIG (Ludhiana range) Ishwar Singh, had been constituted to further investigate all probable angles in the case.
"People with complete knowledge and experts are working out on various theories to reach the conclusion and everything will be clear soon," he said. He said that once it was clear what kind of chemicals and explosives were used it would become easier to reach a logical conclusion.
The Ajmer Blast
Ajmer, in Rajasthan had met with a similar attack. Terror struck the highly-revered Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti when a bomb went off inside the complex killing two persons and injuring 28 as thousands of Muslims were breaking their day-long Ramzan fast.
A near-stampede broke out soon after the bomb kept in a school bag exploded as people, who were having food after the fast, ran helter and skelter, many of them profusely bleeding, and overturned plates and eatables lay scattered. District Collectorate, Ajmer, said 28 persons were injured in the blast which took place at the time for evening prayers when the sprawling white-marble shrine was teeming with hundreds of people.
It appeared to be a pre-planned terror attack and the bomb was kept in a school bag near a tree at 'aahetai-e-noor' (holy place), about 10-15 feet away from main tomb of the Sufi saint, he said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the internal security situation as difficult but asserted that the Government was firm to defeat the menace.
"We have to mobilize all resources and will power for complete defeat of terror machines," he said. The Prime Minister was asked to comment on increasing terror strikes in the country and whether Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was not capable of handling the situation and should step down. Singh asserted that there was no lack of firmness of purpose when it came to dealing with terrorist acts. Describing the situation as "difficult", he said
"I would not say that we should despair". He said terrorists had an advantage of surprise as they could choose targets and it was not possible to protect each of them. The Prime Minister said it was time to think differently about the strategy on dealing with terrorism in future.
"But let there be no mistake about our resolve to meet this challenge head on," he added. After both back to back blasts, the whole of India was put under high alert, while, in both the terror struck cities, the security has been tightened.
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