Indian Buddhist Sites Hit By Blasts
Indrajit Singh ("The Huffington Post," July 7, 2013)
Patna, India - A series of blasts hit three Buddhist sites in eastern India
early Sunday, injuring at least two people and drawing condemnation from
the prime minister.
Senior police officer S.K. Bhardwaj said a gate at one of the two temples
that was hit was badly damaged in Bodhgaya, a town 130 kilometers (80 miles)
south of Patna, the capital of Bihar state. No other damage was reported
to the Buddhist sites.
Junior Home Minister R.P.N. Singh said that no one claimed responsibility
for the explosions and that an investigation would be carried out to
determine who was involved.
Four blasts took place on the grounds of the Mahabodhi Temple, or the Great
Awakening Temple, Bhardwaj said. Another four explosions were reported at
the nearby Karma temple and at a site with a 55-meter-tall (180-foot-tall)
Buddhist tower.
Abhyanand, the director-general of state police, said the blasts ranged
from low to high intensity. He also said police recovered two unexploded
bombs, which were defused in the area. Abhyanand uses only one name.
A Tibetan and a pilgrim from Myanmar received minor injuries in the blast
at the Mahabodhi Temple and were taken to a hospital, Bhardwaj said, adding
that a temple gate was badly damaged.
Another explosion damaged an empty tourist bus parked near the Mahabodhi
Temple, he said. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site where Buddha is
said to have attained enlightenment.
There were few people at the popular pilgrimage centers, which were
targeted for the first time, Bhardwaj said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the blasts, saying "such
attacks on religious places will never be tolerated."
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, also condemned the
explosions.
"It's very sad. It's a few individuals," he told reporters during a visit
to the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The Buddhist sites attract a large number of pilgrims, especially from
Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, but the main pilgrimage starts in
September.
Bhardwaj said there have been intelligence reports about the possibility of
attacks on the sites, but he did not give any details.
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