By IANS
New Delhi : The weekend blasts that killed 43 people in Hyderabad rocked the Lok Sabha Wednesday with the opposition accusing the government of playing “vote bank politics”, while police in Hyerabad released the sketch of a man it said may have planted the bomb at Lumbini Park.
And with mounting criticism over its failure to check terror despite intelligence tip-offs, the Andhra Pradesh government announced the creation of an elite anti-terror force along the lines of the Greyhounds, the special anti-Maoist police force.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy said the force would be powerful, vibrant and dynamic – in order to deal firmly with terrorism and threats to the security of the state. “It will be developed as a world class organisation equal to the union government’s Research Analysis Wing (RAW), giving the much needed teeth to the intelligence network,” he said.
As parliament resumed after a four-day break to celebrate the Onam and Raksha Bandhan festivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition demanded that the Prevention of Terrorism Activities (POTA) Act be re-introduced to fight “spreading terrorism” networks in the country, but the government ruled it out saying that terror attacks had taken place even when the law existed.
“Let’s not indulge in mudslinging on each other. It is a collective war of people of India (against terrorism) irrespective of party politics,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told the Lok Sabha.
But Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani alleged that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had been soft on terrorism. “I do not think terrorism is linked with any community. But this government has been indulging in vote bank politics instead of being strict on them,” Advani said.
The Andhra Pradesh government too came in for strong criticism, particularly from Mohammed Salim of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) former NDA government law minister Ram Jethmalani, who asked: “Who gets this information (intelligence) in the government and what do they do with this information?”
In the state capital, meanwhile, police released the sketch of a man it said could be a suspect in the blast that occurred inside the open-air auditorium at Lumbini Park.
Claiming to have made “considerable” progress in the investigations into Saturday’s twin bomb blasts, the police officer heading the probe told reporters that the sketch was based on a description given by an eyewitness who was injured.
“The suspect is aged about twenty-five years, his height about five feet 9 inches and his complexion is very fair and his hair is smooth,” said Ponna Rao, Additional Commissioner in Hyderabad police. The suspect was wearing glasses.
Saturday’s attacks have prompted Hyderabad Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh to formed 100 special teams to work round the clock to improve security and prevent further attacks.
Each team is headed by an officer of sub-inspector rank, and will be equipped with metal detectors, dragon lights and communication sets. They will conduct checks on lodges, vehicles and public and private places where large crowds gather.