Varanasi blast masterminds identified
Mtoday news
New Delhi, December 8: In what can be termed as the first success in the Varanasi blast case, investigators Wednesday identified the masterminds as Dr Shahnawaz and Assadullah, both believed to have had a hand in the 2008 Delhi blasts and are now holed up in Sharjah.
Sources told Zee News that Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad has detained three persons early Wednesday and is questioning them about their involvement in the blast that occurred yesterday evening at 6.30 pm when thousands of devotees and some foreign tourists had assembled at the Sheetla ghat for the Ganga arti ritual. One child died in the explosion, while 37 others were left injured.
As per the information available, Dr Shahnawaz and Assadullah are part of the same terror cell that carried out the serial blasts in Delhi on September 13, 2008, which led to the infamous Batla house encounter on October 24 of the same year.
Dr Shahnawaz is said to have worked in a nursing home in Lucknow and belongs to Sanjarpur – the same village from where most of the dead in Batla House belonged to – 20 kilometers from Azamgarh. His brother Saif is said to be in custody of Gujarat Police in connection with a blast case.
He is also said to be have played a key role in 2008 Jaipur serial blasts which left more then 60 dead.
Assadullah is the son of Dr Javed. He alongwith Dr Shahnawaz had escaped to Dubai after their name surfaced in the Delhi blast case; they are also said to be close to Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal.
The banned terror outfit has in a mail sent shortly after the blast yesterday claimed responsibility for the blast and said it "attributed" the attack to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
After e-mail was traced to Mumbai, the police have quizzed a father-son duo. Details are awaited.
In Varanasi blast of 2006 and Lucknow blast of 2008 the same module was used, sources in the UP police say.
Meanwhile, Home Minister P Chidambaram today visited Varanasi to take a first hand account of the situation – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought a report from the Home Ministry.
No shrapnels in Varanasi bomb?
The low-intensity bomb used in the blast here did not have shrapnels in it and all the injured were hit by pieces of wall that broke following the explosion, police sources told a news agency said today.
They said the bomb kept near the steps leading to the Dashashwamedh Ghat was placed in such a way that the maximum impact was directed to the ground where the ’arti’ was being held yesterday evening.
Though the nature of explosives is yet to be ascertained, the sources said there were no burn or shrapnel injuries.
However, some other reports have claimed that ammonium nitrate mixed with aluminum shells was used and to maximize the impact.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered from a metal dustbin at the site of the blast.
Varanasi, Dec 07: A blast rocked the ghaat of the Ganges in Varanasi on Tuesday as the evening aarti was going to commence at the Sheetla ghaat, leaving one 2-year old girl child dead and at least 25, including some foreign tourists, injured.
An Italian and a French national were among the injured.
Banned outfit Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility in an email to various media houses. It said the bomb was exploded in protest against the ruling of the Ayodha verdict by Allahabad High Court earlier this year and also the clean chit given to CM Narendra Modi in Gujarat riots case by the Supreme Court appointed SIT.
The mail also referred to the recent manhandling of Kashmiri separatisis at various public forums in the country, asking Syed Ali shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooque to "mantain their self-respect and dignity."
To add to the panic, four Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were also recovered from a dustbin at the blast site, indicating a plan of serial blasts. The mail was found to have been written from Malad in Mumbai.
PM Manmohan Singh has appealed for peace and sought a report from the Home Ministry. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi condemned the blast. "Government condemns the attempt to disturb the peace and harmony by a misguided group which appears to have planted a low-intensity device in one of the ghats in Varanasi," Home Minister P Chidambaram said. Police officials said an explosive device had apparently been concealed in a crevice on the steps leading to the river and where hundreds of men and women were seated.
The Union Home Ministry confirmed the blast which occured at 6:30pm. Home Secretary GK Pillai told the media that an alert had been issued to all states, with special stress on four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
As several people fell down bleeding and injured, others desperately tried to escape, triggering a stampede that injured more people. 
The injured, which includes foreigners, have been rushed to the Varanasi district hospital. ADG Brij Lal said seven injured and four have been hospitalised. He said the state ATS had reached the spot and investigations had begun.
Lal told reporters one foreigner was injured. However, doctors attending to the injured, said they had treated at least 20 victims including 5-6 foreigners.
IG, Varanasi, RP Singh said on phone that the actual number of the injured and the cause of the blast was not immediately known.
Prem Prakash, DIG Varanasi said it was a low-intensity blast. He refused to confirm if there were any casualties. An alert has been sounded in the city.
"The UP police has informed us that so far there is no report on death and we are waiting for the details," Secretary (Internal Security) U K Bansal said here.
The aarti of River Ganges is attended by hundreds of devout. The revered temple Lord Shiva, Mahakaaleshwar, is near the ghaat. The blast occured right outside the Sheetla Mata temple.
Tuesday is when a special aarti, called ’maha-aarti takes place.
The blast led to a stampede and a wall collapsed which added to the confusion.
The stampede led to further injuries which may rise drastically. The area has been cordoned-off. Onlookers said
Varanasi, which was rocked by twin blasts on March seven, 2006, has been under constant threat from various terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Today’s blast took place some two-km from Sankatmochan Temple which was targeted by terrorists in 2006.
Security personnel had then recovered four live bombs from a Dashaswamedh ghat.