Buddhist monks hold special prayer inside blast-hit Bodhgaya temple
Buddhist monks from 50 countries today held a special prayer inside Bodh Gaya temple for return of peace after 10 explosions that left two injured there. Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and other countries participated in the one-hour prayer this evening, Arvind Singh, member of Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), told PTI. Head of monasteries of different countries also attended the prayer. The Bodh Gaya has Buddhist monasteries of 50 countries. Singh, who took part in the prayer, said the temple remained open for monks and would be opened for general public today.
Investigators probing the Bodhgaya serial blasts at Mahabodhi temple believe that at least three to four terrorists visited the complex to plant the 13 bombs as each explosive might have weighed four to five kg with cylinder. Official sources said the investigators were scanning the footage of CCTV installed in the complex to locate those who were carrying the bombs - possibly in bags or cartons - but the quality of pictures were not of much help in identifying the persons involved.
"At least three to four people must have carried the bombs. But so far, their pictures are not visible in the CCTV footage. The task of scanning the footage is continuing," a source said.
Sources said since the bombs exploded early in the morning when there were very few pilgrims around, the perpetrators might have wanted to convey the message that they can carry out a bigger attack whenever they want to and do that in an elaborate manner. Since Bodhgaya is frequented by around 3,000 foreign visitors and a few hundred Indians every day, it was extremely difficult for the security agencies to monitor movement of outsiders in the town. The security plan being drawn out by the authorities after the July 2 meeting with monastery is yet to be fully implemented and private security personnel continue to guard the historic site. Use of cylinder technology in triggering blasts seems to be a new practice in India, sources said, adding each of the bombs used yesterday may have weighed 4-5 kg with cylinder. They said the National Investigation Agency has not yet taken over the case but is helping Bihar Police in its probe.
