The Telegraph, September 28, 2008
Blast target: festival of harmony Bomb between temple, masjid
NISHIT DHOLABHAI AND ANANYA SENGUPTA
Urmila, grandmother of blast victim Santosh, outside the trauma centre at AIIMS on Saturday. (AFP)
New Delhi, Sept. 27: As the smoke cleared from Mehrauli this afternoon, another haze lifted from the bloodstained flower market.
The attackers had struck as usual in a crowded market but barely a month before Phoolwalon ki Sair, a festival that symbolises communal harmony.
To elders in this bustling area, where Muslims number slightly more than Hindus, there was no doubt the intention was to fan communal tension. The bomb, they said, was dropped with precision between the Auliya masjid and the Jogmaya temple.
Nearby is the shrine of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, who had succeeded Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer as the head of the Chisti order of Sufis.
Hindus and Muslims have been living here peacefully since the area came into prominence during Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar’s time when Phoolwalon ki Sair became a popular festival for both communities. While Hindus offer flower pankhas (fans) at the temple, Muslims offer chaddar at the Kaki dargah.
People converge at Jahaz Mahal, an 18th-century palace now in ruins, before proceeding to the two shrines. Today, the bike-borne assailants dropped their lethal “packet” 100 metres from the palace.
Resident L.D. Hans recalled “small fights” between the mixed population of Hindus and Muslims but added that the elders had always “resolved” them.
The bombers, residents said, tried to break this harmony. They struck at the mouth of a funnel-shaped crowded lane where a 300-family group traditionally votes for the BJP. The Punjabi residents from Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan settled here after Partition.
For old residents like Mohammed Idris Bawarchi Mehrauliwale, the blast ripped a delicious reverie — the aroma of zafran biryani Mehrauli is famous for.
“Whoever they are, they are trying to destroy every bit of love that exists,” he said.
“If bombs are now flung at us from moving vehicles, none of us is safe,” said housewife Suhani Chauhan.
Police sources said there was nothing to suggest that today’s blast, which left a three-foot-wide crater on the road, was planned by the gang of 13 who Delhi police claim were behind the serial explosions.
“This bomb doesn’t resemble those that exploded in Delhi on September 13. The bomb also has no similarity with any of those detonated in Ahmedabad or found in Surat,” joint commissioner (southern range) Ajay Kashyap said, ruling out RDX.
Police sources said a small quantity of ammonium nitrate was found, while potassium was used to trigger the blast. It was the first time, they added, that a bomb had been flung into a crowded place and not planted.
What was surprising was that despite handling several blasts, Delhi police didn’t seem to have learnt from their mistakes. Even before forensic experts reached the spot, police personnel had not only washed the area but also collected the debris with their bare hands.
Union home minister Shivraj Patil almost conceded the need for more security. “The government has taken a series of measures recently to beef up security in Delhi. Whatever more is required to be done will be done expeditiously,” he said.
Police sources said six Bangladeshis had been detained.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for Santosh’s family.
|
