By IANS
Male : India has rejected media reports alleging that terrorists who engineered the weekend blasts in Hyderabad came via the Maldives, saying such reports are “irresponsible and need to be condemned”.
“In the wake of recent bombing attacks in Hyderabad, stray reports in the Indian media have projected the Maldives as a possible route for terrorists and their instigators,” the Indian high commission here said in a statement.
“Such reports are completely unrelated to the facts on the ground and the government of India totally rejects the same,” the statement said.
“The Maldives is a remarkably peace loving, tranquil society and a law-abiding member of the international community. Given its enviable track record, irresponsible press reports of the nature cited above deserves to be condemned,” the high commission said.
In a statement earlier this week, Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest serving ruler who has been leading the Indian Ocean atoll nation for nearly three decades, condemned Saturday’s twin blasts in Hyderabad that claimed 42 lives and injured over 100 and expressed solidarity with the victims.
In a message to President Pratibha Patil, President Gayoom expressed sympathies on behalf of the people of the Maldives for the tragedy.
“I extend my profound sympathy to you, the government, and people of India, especially to those who have been directly affected by the explosions. We also convey our sincere condolences to the members of the bereaved families,” Gayoom said in a letter to Patil.
Some reports in the Indian media suggested that militant groups were using routes from Pakistan and Bangladesh via Male in Maldives, primarily to target South Indian cities.
Indian security agencies are investigating the suspected link of the Bangladesh based militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islam (HuJI) to the blasts in Hyderabad.