MUMBAI: Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil announced on Wednesday in the Assembly a prize of Rs. 25 lakh to anybody providing the police with information about terrorists who bombed trains in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Mr. Patil was replying to a debate on an adjournment motion the Opposition had tabled to blast the Government on the bombing and demanding the resignation of Mr. Patil and Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

The Home Minister said the city police had formed 16 teams to investigate various aspects of the terrorist attack and the conspiracy behind it. These include seven teams, one each for Matunga, Mahim, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Borivali stations in Mumbai and Mira Road in adjacent Thane district — where trains exploded.

Mr. Patil said the terror attack had to be responded with a show of unity for terrorists wanted to kill not only with bomb blasts but also internal fights. Earlier, it was decided at a specially called all-party meeting to work for peace and appeal for maintaining calm and not to politicise the issue. But, that did not deter the Opposition from attacking the Government and holding it responsible for its failure to prevent the blasts.

An agitated Leader of the Opposition, Ramdas Kadam of the Shiv Sena demanded that the terrorists be not arrested but shot and accused the Government of following the policy of appeasement for the sake of its vote banks. BJP leader Gopinath Munde demanded that the police be given free hand and pointed out that in the past ten years, 110 bomb blasts had taken place in the city killing 996 persons, but not a single case was decided. He said the lack of conviction encouraged the terrorists. Mr. Patil said cases in different countries showed that terrorists tended to attack means of public transport. He said he had discussed the matter with the railway authorities who had agreed to take measures like random checking of passengers. He said on the day after the blast not a single shop was closed and the city pulled itself together in few hours unlike New York, which took 15 days to come to terms with the situation.

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