The Hindu : National : Patil chairs security meet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 30, 2005

National

National

Patil chairs security meet

Special Correspondent

Lashkar, Jaish hand suspected in blasts

NEW DELHI: An emergency meeting to take stock of the security in the capital, in the wake of Saturday's serial bomb blasts, was held at the Cabinet Secretariat.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil chaired the meeting, attended by Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi, Home Secretary V.K. Duggal, Intelligence Bureau Director E.S.L. Narasimhan and the top brass of the security and police establishments.

Official sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was returning to the capital after cancelling his Kolkata visit, would call on the injured in the Safdarjung and RML Hospitals. Mr. Patil was scheduled to visit the blast sites at Sarojini Nagar in South Delhi and Paharganj in Central Delhi.

Mr. Duggal presided over another high-level meeting, attended by top Delhi police, Intelligence Bureau and senior Home Ministry officials.

Intelligence sources said the modus operandi of the perpetrators and the possibility of the use of plastic explosives such as RDX strengthened the suspicion that a terrorist outfit such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba could be involved.

No claims so far

Intercepts from Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir and other northern States had not indicated any group claiming responsibility. But powerful devices and precise timing could have been used only by outfits such as the Lashkar or the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the sources said.

The meeting reviewed security measures at vital installations, airports and railway stations, and alerted security and intelligence agencies in the other metropolitan cities, particularly Mumbai.It was noted that militant organisations could create panic among the people during the festive season to bring down trade and business. All precautionary measures and steps for crowd control without causing panic would be taken.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National