TERRORISM - 2008 - Indian Social Institute

Haflong, the district headquarters, said a group of four masked men arrived at a site near
Phaiding Railway Station, under Mahur Police Station at 2.30 pm on Sunday and opened
indiscriminate fire on the labourers who were at work, killing eight of them on the spot. Two others
were critically injured. The labourers belonged to a private company, Sukhdew Construction, and
were engaged by Northeast Frontier Railways for civil construction works in the ongoing
Lumding-Silchar hill section. Phaiding is located 33 km from Haflong. Police sources said all the
labourers were from Karimganj district in Southern Assam. Four of the victims have been
identified as Burauddin Ahmed, Zakir Hussain, Faizul Haque and Allauddin. Earlier, on Saturday
night suspected DHD (J) militants killed a pointsman of the Railways at Dautohaja, under
Maibong Police Station, in the same district, about 50 km from Haflong. The same group had
abducted five persons belonging to P L Valecha Engineering Company on the Saurashtra-to-
Silchar East-West Corridor on March 13. (Indian Express 12/5/08)
60 killed, 150 injured as terror strikes Pink City (12)
JAIPUR: Terror struck the Pink City for the first time on Tuesday evening as serial blasts killed at
least 60 people and injured more than 150. Starting around 7.30 p.m. there were nine or 10 blasts
within 15 minutes at six crowded places, including in the vicinity of two Hanuman temples, in the
Walled City area. Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria confirmed 60 dead and 150
injured though unofficial sources said the casualties could be higher. Eyewitnesses said they
could count 60 bodies in the overflowing mortuary of the City’s leading hospital, Sawai Man
Singh. Some bodies were reportedly kept in the satellite hospital, Kanwatia, and a private
hospital, Santokbha Durlabhji Memorial. The blasts caused panic in the entire city while the
authorities sealed off the Walled City. No traffic was allowed through its historic gates. The
communication system also was jammed with mobiles not giving out signals. The former
Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, who spoke to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, said the
Centre had assured the State authorities all possible help to handle the situation. Union Minister
of State for Home Jaiswal is reaching here on Wednesday. Director-General Police A.S. Gill told
this correspondent that forensic experts were still verifying the nature of the explosives. He did
not confirm the use of RDX but said high intensity explosives were used in the bombs. The blasts
outside the temples targeted the devotees who gather in large numbers on Tuesdays. One
temple is at Sanganeri Gate, while the other is at Chandpole. The Chandpole blast was said to be
of less intensity while the explosion on Maniharon ka Rasta near the victory tower, Sargasuli at
Tripolia, was the most powerful. The explosions at Bari Chauper near the world famous Hawa
Mahal claimed at least three lives. One of the bombs went off near a popular eating-place, Laxmi
Mishtan Bhandar, in the crowded Johari Bazar area. Another exploded near the Kothwali police
station at Choti Chauper. There are also reports that at least one live bomb was recovered near
Chandpole. Initial reports suggested that the terrorists used vehicles, including a car,
cyclerickshaws and autorickshaws to plant the bombs, which were detonated with remotecontrolled
devices. PTI reports: Bangladesh-based Harkut-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) is suspected to
be behind the blasts that have taken the State authorities by surprise, Home Ministry sources
said. Rapid Action Force personnel were immediately deployed to help authorities deal with the
situation even as security was beefed up. One of the blasts took place in a car and another near
a handloom shop in the Kotwali area, the sources said. At the blast sites, crammed with peakhour
shoppers, panic-stricken people ran helter skelter. ……… (The Hindu 14/5/08)
PM: no link between POTA repeal and terror strikes (12)
NEW DELHI, MAY 14: A day after the Jaipur blasts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there
was “no lack of firmness in the Government’s resolve against terror”, but each attack could not be
anticipated since terrorists had the “advantage of surprise”. Asked whether the absence of a law
like POTA was one of the reasons behind increased terrorist activities, he said there was no corelation
between POTA and terror strikes. Asserting that there was no dearth of laws against
terror in the country, Singh said many terrorist attacks like the ones on Parliament, Akshardham
temple and Raghunath temple had taken place when POTA was in force. Speaking on the
sidelines of the Defence Investiture Ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Singh, when asked about
the Jaipur blasts, said: “It is too early to say whether we are close to a breakthrough or not. We
will explore all possibilities and it is premature to say anything right now as it may interfere with