Poor placing of bombs saved Lord Buddha’s statute
The Times of India Deeptiman Tiwary 2013-07-10
July 09 -- NEW DELHI: The sacred Lord Buddha statue in the Mahabodhi Temple complex in Gaya could have been badly damaged had the terrorists been more judicious in placing the bomb. However, they placed the bomb meant for the statue so close to another that explosion in one broke the other's clock rendering it useless. Two other bombs too followed the same fate because of their proximity to rest of the explosives.
Perpetrators of the attack had used 'Lotus' brand analogue clocks as timer device in the 13 cylinder bombs placed in and around the temple complex.
It was earlier suspected that moisture seeping into explosives may have rendered the bombs useless. However, investigations by National Security Guard (NSG) bomb experts revealed that each of the three bombs had been placed at a short distance away from another bomb. As they were timed for explosion later, other bombs exploded first. The impact broke their clocks and the circuit was terminated, said a senior NSG officer.
Police had recovered one exploded bomb from the Terega Monastery, another was found near the 80-foot Budha statue in the shrine complex, while the third was placed at Rampur Road junction on route to the temple. All were accompanied by one more bomb at a short distance away.
Investigations have revealed that all the 13 bombs contained a mixture of ammonium nitrate and sulphur and potassium emulsion. The mixture was packed with shrapnel and ball bearings and then stuffed in 2-kg LPG gas cylinders by drilling holes into them. The circuit was completed using analogue clocks and detonators.
The circuit was also found to have similarities with bombs found in 2008 Ahmedabad, Jaipur (2006) and Pune (2012) blasts. All these blasts were carried out by Indian Mujahideen (IM). However, in none of these blasts cylinders were used. This is the first time. So it's difficult to say if it's a signature of any particular group, said another NSG officer.
Interestingly, the quantity of ammonium nitrate was very less — only around 150-200 gm in each bomb. In February Hyderabad blasts, 400-700 gm of ammonium nitrate had been used. The blasts had killed 16 people.
The use of these new kind of bombs has also opened the investigations with various groups being probed. Although IM had earlier spoken about Bodh Gaya being a target, we as yet do not have any evidence or material indication that the group is involved, said an officer part of the investigation team.
Investigations have also revealed that there may not be any larger motive behind the discovery from blast sites of papers with 'Bada But' and 'Iraq War' written on them. Bada But was scribbled as direction for where to keep the bomb. 'Iraq war' was printed on a pamphlet whose blank back was used for another direction. Both bombs were placed as directed, said an NIA officer.