NEW DELHI: A day after an unidentified gunman fired at delegates at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore killing a scientist and injuring five others, the Centre on Thursday was guarded in its reaction, saying it was "difficult to say whether it was a terrorist attack, though its possibility cannot be ruled out."

Addressing a crowded press conference at North Block here, Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal said the Ministry was in constant touch with the Karnataka government. The State government has intensified vigil and security to nab the assailant. He said that a special team has been constituted to investigate the case.

Responding to queries, Mr. Duggal said: "Though the firing incident looks like a terrorist attack, I cannot be 100 per cent sure about it. Prima facie, the modus operandi and the blind shooting point towards it being a terror attack. Investigations are going on and the police and security agencies will get hold of the assailant and get to the deeper conspiracy behind it."

Mr. Duggal said the search of the IISc complex has led to recovery of one automatic assault rifle AK-56, three grenades, few empty cartridges and magazines, some of them loaded. One of the five injured had probably seen the assailant but was not in a condition to give a statement to the police, he said adding that no terrorist organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the shootout.

The Home Secretary said that intelligence inputs had pointed out that Information Technology hubs like Bangalore and sensitive economic installations could be targets of terrorist attack.

Strongly condemning the attack on scientists, Mr. Duggal said that the scientific community was global in character working for the well being of the people the world over and he could not comprehend why anyone should attack them.

Intelligence inputs

Official sources said that the probe was also looking at the possibility of involvement of more than one person in the attack at IISc and how the get-away vehicle was arranged.

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