UP blasts again put focus on IEDs

Lucknow, Nov 25: Friday's serial bomb blasts in three cities of Uttar Pradesh, which left 13 people killed and 70 injured, have once again brought the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in limelight which are increasingly being used by terrorist organisations to demoralise the common man.

For the past several years, the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) has been monitoring the use of IEDs by militants and anti-national elements across the country.

An NSG team visited Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi to collect samples of the explosives used to trigger six cycle blasts on Friday. It is a routine exercise for the NSG to collect samples of explosives wherever there is a bomb explosion.

IEDs have been responsible for hundreds of casualties in the terrorism affected states of the country.

Ironically, there does not appear to be any reliable way of checking them. Modern technology has enabled the terrorist groups to plan and execute over a larger canvas presenting a challenging task to the government agencies.

According to the National Bomb Data Centre, out of the total of 269 bombing incidents that have taken place in 2006, Jammu and Kashmir has dominated the national scene with 78 bombing incidents.

Other states with appreciable number of bombing incidents were Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Andhra Pradesh has witnessed an appreciable decrease in the bombing incidents from 15 in 2005 to 05 in 2006.

Arunachal Pradesh which was an IED free state witnessed 1 incident in 2006.

Assam has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 37 in 2005 to 41 in 2006.

Bihar has witnessed a marginal decrease in bombing incidents from 9 in 2005 to 7 in 2006.

Chandigarh had witnessed 1 bombing incident last year, however, it was IED free in 2006.

Chhattisgarh has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 51 in 2005 to 61 in 2006.

Delhi has witnessed an appreciable decrease in the bombing incidents from 7 in 2005 to 2 in 2006.

Goa has remained an IED free state so far.

Gujarat had witnessed 3 bombing incidents in 2005 and a similar number in 2006 as well.

Haryana which was an IED free state in 2005, has witnessed 1 incident in 2006.

Himachal Pradesh has remained an IED free state so far.

Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an appreciable decrease in the bombing incidents from 120 in 2005 to 78 in 2006.

Jharkhand has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 18 in 2005 to 27 in 2006.

Karnataka has witnessed 1 bombing incident in 2005 and a similar number in 2006.

Kerala has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 1 in 2005 to 3 in 2006.

Madhya Pradesh has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 1 in 2005 to 2 in 2006.

Maharashtra had witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 2 in 2005 to 7 in 2006.

Manipur has witnessed an appreciable decrease in the bombing incidents from 17 in 2005 to 7 in 2006.

Mizoram has remained an IED free state in 2006.

Meghalaya has remained an IED free state in 2006.

Nagaland had witnessed 3 bombing incidents in 2005, whereas, there was 1 incident last year.

Orissa had witnessed 3 incidents in 2005 and 2 last year.

Pondicherry has remained an IED free state last year.

Punjab had witnessed 1 bombing incident in 2005 and a similar number last year as well.

Rajasthan had witnessed 1 incident in 2005 and a similar number last year.

Tamil Nadu has witnessed a decrease in bombing incidents from 7 in 2005 to 3 in 2006.

Tripura has remained an IED free state last year.

Uttar Pradesh has witnessed an increase in bombing incidents from 7 in 2005 to 09 in 2006.

West Bengal had witnessed 03 bombing incidents in 2005, whereas, there were 6 incidents in 2006.

UNI