NAGPUR, 2 June 2006 — Police shot dead three-suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who were trying to blow up the headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Gandhi Baug before dawn yesterday.
The heavily armed gunmen were killed in a gun battle after their car smashed through a barrier outside the national RSS offices in Nagpur. The attackers were wearing police uniforms and tried driving what appeared to be a police car up to the offices of the ideological wing of India’s nationalist opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Primer Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee condemned the terrorists.
Nagpur police commissioner Shiv Prasad Singh Yadav said that the terrorist plan was foiled thanks to advance intelligence information from federal intelligence agencies who had informed the city police of a likely terrorist attack on the RSS headquarters and that “a terrorist suicide squad had entered Nagpur”.
Apart from the RSS executive body member Indresh Kumar, no significant leader of the Sangh was in the building at the time of attack. “The Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudarshan, is presently in Calcutta while the general secretary Mohan Bhagwat is in nearby Kamptee,” RSS sources said.
Police had pursued the militants at around 4.30 a.m. after they saw them traveling at high speed toward the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, added Yadav. Police intercepted the car around 100 meters away from the building and in a shootout the militants injured two policemen, he said.
“In retaliation, we killed the car’s three male occupants,” Yadav said, adding that the attackers were in their early 20s. Yadav said the militants had been armed with three AK47 assault rifles, 20 hand grenades and military-type RDX explosives. The guerrillas had fired more than 60 rounds of ammunition when challenged by police.
“It is now confirmed that all three belonged to an radical organization,” Yadav told a news conference. Yadav said the suspects were dressed as sub-inspectors and that a police team that was guarding the RSS headquarters had became suspicious of the car as it circled the RSS headquarters several times.
Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R. R. Patil said that he was proud of the intelligence work carried out by Indian police. “We will foil any terrorist attempts to carry out any terrorist act and disturb peace in the state. We are fully prepared and alert to tackle terrorism in any form anywhere within Maharashtra,” Patil added.
Condemning the terrorist attempt to target the RSS headquarters, Manmohan appealed to the people of India to maintain peace and harmony. “The entire nation is united against terrorism. All communities should live in amity and peace,” he said.
While Vajpayee called on people to remain alert against such activities, the leader of the opposition L.K. Advani questioned the government’s “soft” approach toward terrorism and criticized the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance for delegitimizing the Prevention of Terrorism Act and talking with Pakistan about the demilitarization of Siachen. Advani said: “Repealing an anti-terror law, talks about demilitarization, scaling down troops in Doda and other such measures send out a message of soft policy on terrorism. Terrorists should not feel the government is getting soft toward them.”
Home Minister Shivraj Patil condemned the attack and also asserted that the government was doing all it could in defeating terrorism. In a statement from Singapore, where Patil is on a three-day visit, he said: “I am relieved that the bid was foiled by alert security personnel.”
RSS chief Sudarshan commended the state administration and police for foiling the attack. In a statement, he described the attempt as the latest in a series of attacks undertaken in the last four years on various buildings and religious places including the Parliament, Akshardham in Gujarat, Varanasi, the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress camp in Srinagar and Doda.
Sudarshan appealed to RSS members not to be provoked by such incidents and maintain peace.
— With input from Nilofar Suharwardy
