BJP workers ransack Indore airport

The situation took an ugly turn when around 20 policemen lathi-charged the protesters. In response, some party workers entered the departure lounge and broke flower pots and some windowpanes. A group of workers climbed the outer wall of the airport and ran towards the runway. They were stopped by the Rapid Action Force.

Meanwhile, the district administration has suspended the in charge of the airport police post, A K Mishra. “He not only reached the spot late but also failed to anticipate the trouble and requisition additional police force despite the fact that a nationwide bandh had been called for,’’ said a senior police officer.

The BJP workers also stopped some trains near Indore, including an inter-city express. Attempts were also made to ransack a dargah in the old city area.

Rajasthan bandh called today

JAIPUR: BJP and VHP activists staged sit-ins at district headquarters across Rajasthan demanding stringent measures to deal with terrorism. CM Vasundhra Raje Scindia said the attack hurt sentiments of Hindus. Meanwhile, Rajasthan BJP and VHP leaders gave a call for a state-wide bandh tomorrow.

Bandh call fails to stir UP day after attack

LUCKNOW: the bandh evoked a mixed response in Uttar Pradesh with markets remaining partially closed but normal attendance being reported from educational institutions and government offices. Senior party leaders including national vice president Kalyan Singh, general secretary Rajnath Singh, UP state chief Keshari Nath Tripathi and legislature party leader Lalji Tandon are camping in Lucknow to chalk out the protest programme.

Mixed response seen in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Barring sporadic incidents of stone-throwing and stopping of the Rajdhani Express and other trains for sometime, the bandh called by the BJP to protest the security lapse that led to the Ayodhya attack evoked a mixed response in NDA-ruled Jharkhand with no major incident of violence reported.

‘I thought I would die’

LUCKNOW: At the trauma centre of the King George Medical University, tea-stall owner Ram Chandra Yadav is worried whether his wife will open her eyes again.

On Tuesday, Shanti Devi (40) was injured in indiscriminate firing by the militants after they attacked the makeshift temple in Ayodhya. Shanti was hit by a bullet in her forehead. She now lies in a coma, following surgery.

55-year-old Krishna Swaroop Mishra, also injured, was however more fortunate. ‘‘When the blast happened, the walls of my house started to crumble. We ran outside to save our lives,’’ he said. But as soon as Mishra came out, he was hit in the left leg by a bullet.

‘‘I continued to lie where I fell while bullets passed over my body. All I could think of was, with one bullet having hit me, I would die if I were caught by another, ’’ he said.

Another person who died in the attack is yet to be identified. ENS