Bodh Gaya: A high-level team of National Investigation Agency(NIA)has begun its probe into the serial blasts in the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town.
The investigators on Monday released the CCTV footage of the serial blasts that rocked the temple town yesterday. Based on their initial investigation, the investigators suspect that the bomb was planted in the temple premises between 2 am to 4 am in cover of darkness.
Meanwhile, one person has been detained in connection with serial blasts at the Mahabodhi temple. He will be questioned by the NIA officials today.
Following an advisory by the government, security of all states with Buddhist population and sites has also been increased.
Terror struck the world renowned religious site of Bodh Gaya, Bihar in the early hours on Sunday as a series of nine explosions in and around the famous Mahabodhi temple left two monks injured.
"Two monks from Tibet and Myanmar were injured in the attack," an eyewitness said.
The 1500-year-old temple, which is a UNESCO World heritage site, and the Bodhi Tree, under which Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, did not suffer any damage in the blasts which shook the holy town frequented by Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka, China, Japan and the whole of southeast Asia.
Two live bombs were also recovered later in the day on Sunday, while a third was found near Bodh Gaya's Baiju Bigaha area late Sunday afternoon.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who rushed to the blast site from Patna, about 100 kms from Gaya, demanded deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for security of the shrine.
"We had increased the security of the Mahabodhi temple. CCTV cameras were put in place. But after this incident, we will take further steps to strengthen its security," Nitish Kumar said.
However, no group has claimed responsibility for what the Centre and state government have described as a terror attack in a region where Maoists have a strong foothold.
In 2012, the Delhi Police claimed to have foiled a 'fidayeen' attack in the town with the arrest of suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) elements to avenge "atrocities" against Muslims in Myanmar.
Security agencies suspect that IM may be behind Sunday's multiple blasts.
Sources said that even the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had issued an alert in June of a possible attack on the Mahabodhi temple.
Bihar Police chief Abhayanand said no harm has come to the sanctum sanctorum of the famous Buddhist temple, but some peripheral damage has occurred.
Asked why the blasts could not be averted even after an alert by IB, the state's top policeman said security was increased after the inputs were received but added "every incident is a learning experience".
However, Delhi Police claimed it had alerted its Bihar counterpart and intelligence agencies about Bodh Gaya temple being on the radar of terror outfits.
According to the police, IM operatives had told them that they were planning Pune-like blasts in Delhi and Bihar for which they had specifically spent around two weeks doing a recce of the temple town.
The officer also said that a team of Delhi Police is planning to visit Bodh Gaya to share the information it had received from IM operatives with the security agencies investigating the blasts.
BJP and other opposition parties accused the Centre and the Bihar government of having failed to take steps to avert the terror strike at the Mahabodhi temple despite specific warnings of intelligence agencies.
(With PTI inputs)
Source: Zee Media Bureau
