Survivors offer prayers, cops a breakthrough

A year has not been enough to dull their pain. Tears flowed freely down their cheeks as relatives of the victims of Akshardham terrorist att...

A year has not been enough to dull their pain. Tears flowed freely down their cheeks as relatives of the victims of Akshardham terrorist attack relived the agony they had experienced on this day, last year. Yet, they came back to Akshardham to pay homage to the dead.

Thirty-three persons, including an NSG commando and two state commandos, died while 77 others received injuries during the attack. Relatives gathered in large numbers in the sanctum sanctorum for the maha puja this morning.

Members of the Swaminarayan sect lit 33 lamps, one for each departed soul.
As the puja began, many broke down. Mulksinh Jhala, a resident of Mehsana, lost his son Bhavesh in the attack. Bhavesh was a volunteer at the temple. 8216;8216;My son devoted his life to Lord Swaminarayan. He was the only earning member of the family but I am proud that he died while serving at the temple,8217;8217; he says.

Praveena Patel has still not got over the shock of her husband Hamendra8217;s death. 8216;8216;He would have been alive today if his meeting at the Gandhinagar excise office had begun as per schedule. Since Hamendra had two hours to spare, he decided to visit Akshardham8230;8217;8217; she says.

Eyes brimming with tears, Aruna Shah stands staring at the photographs of her son Ketan and his daughter Dhwani. 8216;8216;I lost two people I loved very much8230; We had to muster a lot of courage to stand here today,8217;8217; she adds.

Presiding over the maha puja, Ishwar Charan Swami says: 8216;8216;Let us all pray to God that there are no terrorist attack at places of worship in any part of the country. Terrorism cannot be the solution for anything, peace and prayers are the only solution to all problems in the world.8217;8217;

An absent Pramukhswami Maharaj sent a message: 8216;8216;The prayer meeting is for victims of Akshardham attack. Materialism, ill-will and violence cannot eliminate death, injury and grief. We pray to the Almighty to eradicate terrorism from the world and let peace prevail.

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We pray to God for the development and prosperity of our country.8217;8217;

STAVAN DESAI
AHMEDABAD, SEPTEMBER 24

THE city crime branch today said the strike was a conspiracy hatched by Pakistan8217;s ISI and executed by joint modules of militant outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed JeM and Lashkar-e-Toiba LeT. As versions of the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative arrested by J038;K police and that of the five locals arrested by the Gujarat police, appear to be conflicting, the investigation has become two-pronged and more complex. The DCB is now trying to link both stories.

Inquiries revealed that DCB has 8216;8216;found8217;8217; evidence suggesting that the attack was master-minded by LeT which also provided the weapons and fidayeen. The JeM provided help form of its local sympathisers while, the ISI supervised the operation. Here is where Manzur Zahid Chaudhry and Abu Umar, alleged masterminds of the attack killed by security forces last month, and Riyadh-based Abu Talah and Abu Sifian of JeM fit in.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime D.G. Vanzara said, 8216;8216;It is a complex terror module involving LeT, JeM backed by ISI. As LeT does not have a strong local network in India, they had to seek support of JeM.8217;8217;