UP Courts

Panic prevailed at the premises of the Lucknow district court on Friday afternoon after a bomb went off around 1.15 pm.

Panic prevailed at the premises of the Lucknow district court on Friday afternoon after a bomb went off around 1.15 pm. The explosion took place near the Sulabh Shauchalaya inside the court premises. However, except a typist, Brijesh Srivastava who received minor injuries, no casualties were reported.

Police suspect use of a timer device. A live bomb, kept on a bicycle near the site of explosion, was later defused.

8220;Soon after the explosion, heavy smoke spread in a radius of about five metres, and ball bearings, small pebbles and pieces of glass were scattered over a huge area,8221; said Aditya Singh, an advocate and an eyewitness to the explosion.

Meanwhile, the advocates of the district court entered into a scuffle with senior police officials who reached the spot after the incident. Irked by the lapse of security inside the court, the advocates also raised anti-police and anti-administration slogans. A huge force, including PAC personnel, was rushed to the spot to control the situation.

8220;We have gathered vital residues of the explosive and have sent samples to the forensic laboratory. A white creamy substance was also found scattered around the spot and it is also being tested,8221; informed the SSP.

Meanwhile, the lawyers also blocked the court premises and demanded beefing up the security in and around the premises. The agitation was called off only after assurances from senior police and administrative officials.

It is the responsibility of the Central intelligence agencies to inform about any such possibility and sound an alert. But we were not informed.

8226; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati

Complete failure of law and order in the state.

8226; Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav

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This dastardly act is cowardice and is also intended to create panic.

8226; Congress president Sonia Gandhi

National security under threat because Govt soft-pedalling on terrorism.

8226; BJP leader Sushma Swaraj

Intelligence agencies should be strengthened to uncover such nefarious designs and take preventive action.

8226; CPIM politburo

EXPLOSIVES WHAT WAS IT?

1. Ammonium nitrate/ fuel oil/ steel ball bearings/ timer has been used in Varanasi/ Gorakhpur blasts. Ammonium nitrate along with RDX has been used in Mumbai/ Delhi/ Malegaon/ Mecca Masjid blasts

2. New bicycles were used in Malegaon as well as in Gorakhpur blasts. In Malegoan, those who purchased the new bicycles spoke Hindi with a western UP accent

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3. Serial blasts which took place in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Malegoan and Hyderabad were all designed at creating maximum terror among the public

FRIDAY blasts

The Lucknow, Varanasi, Faizabad blasts point to local involvement with the needle of suspicion on Jaish-e-Mohammed JeM planners and local HuJI operatives.

Okasa, the main accused in the recent JeM arrests in Lucknow, is still at large and reportedly in touch with Athar Ibrahim, brother of Masood Azhar.

The black zipped bag used in UP blasts was first used during Mumbai train blasts.

Recent terror strikes in UP

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Dashaswamedh Ghat Varanasi: The blast , which took place on Feb 23, 2005, claimed seven lives besides injuring 9 persons.

Ayodhya: Terrorists attacked the disputed site in Ayodhya on July 5, 2005. All the six terrorists were gunned down.

Shramjeevi blast: The blast in a coach of Shramjeevi Express claimed 12 lives besides injuring around 50 others on July 28, 2005. The incident took place near Jaunpur

Twin blasts in Varanasi: The serial blasts that rocked the holy town claimed 21 lives at Cantt railway station and at Sankat Mochan Temple on March 7, 2006.

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Serial blasts in Gorakhpur: Six persons were injured in the serial blasts at Gorakhpur town of Eastern UP on May 22, 2007