NEW DELHI, 9 July 2005 — Stunned by the London blasts and the Ayodhya attack taking place in quick succession, India has tightened security at key installations.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA ) focused on both the incidents at its meeting yesterday. Condemning the London blasts in the strongest terms, the CCPA said that the entire world has a common cause against terrorism. “We are all one in our resolve to root out this menace,” the CCPA said in a resolution.
Expressing “profound sense of sorrow and outrage at the violence and bomb blasts in London,” the resolution, read by Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: “Both our countries, India and the United Kingdom, and indeed the entire world have a common cause against terrorism.”
“The committee condemns these attacks in the strongest terms and conveys its deepest sympathy to the British people in their hour of grief,” the resolution said.
After the meeting, Mukherjee said the government has “some information” about the identity of the terrorists involved in Tuesday’s attack in Ayodhya.
The alleged terrorists were quietly buried Wednesday morning at a graveyard in Faizabad in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The four-line statement written by a sub-inspector of police reads: “On July 5, five terrorists carried out an attack on the Ayodhya temple and were killed. Their identity could not be established and so they were being buried at the graveyard as unidentified bodies on July 6.”
Authorities have decided to improve and “reorient” security arrangements in Ayodhya to prevent a “sneak attack” of the type that was carried out on Tuesday. Some of the measures likely to be taken include the construction of additional concrete barricades, lighting up of the area, deployment of additional security personnel and random checking of vehicles and pedestrians in Ayodhya.
“Security arrangements around the disputed site so far have been made with a view to preventing any mob attack like that witnessed on Dec. 6, 1992. This needs to be reoriented in view of Tuesday’s incident,” sources said. On Dec. 6, 1992, a crowd of Hindu fanatics attacked and razed the 16th century Babri Mosque. In subsequent nationwide riots over 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
Security was also stepped up at New Delhi’s metro, with additional personnel being deployed and frisking intensified, said Police Commissioner Ranjit Narayan. “Earlier there was random frisking of passengers, but we are now checking every one,” he said.
Intelligence agencies had warned that the metro could become a target of Kashmiri militant groups, he added.
The metro has its own security staff. But apparently that is not enough, and it has asked the government to provide it with another 500 men. “There is a need for 1,100 men actually, but in the short term, we need at least 500 more men,” metro sources said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is attending the Group of Eight industrialized nations’ summit in Britain, said Thursday’s London bombings underscored the contention that “terrorism is a global scourge” that needed to be tackled through concerted efforts. “Just a couple of days back, India faced a major terrorist attack and these incidents show that global terrorism does not recognize international boundaries and we all need to work together to counter it,” Manmohan said.
