LeT behind Varanasi blasts; Rs one lakh reward for leads

Varanasi, Mar 10 (UNI) Blaming Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) for Tuesday evening's ghastly serial bomb blasts in Varanasi, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a reward of Rs one lakh to anyone providing leads into the terrorist act.

Addressing a news conference here today, UP Director General of Police (DGP) Yashpal Singh said preliminary investigations had pointed towards the involvement of LeT in the blasts.

''Other terrorist organisations claiming responsiblity of the act are an attempt to mislead the probe agencies,'' he maintained.

Yesterday, a hitherto unknown militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Kahar, had claimed responsibility of the twin blasts in the temple town.

Current News Service (CNS), a Srinagar (Jammu&Kashmir) based news agency, had received a call from a man, who identified himself as Abdul Jabbar, the spokesman of the outfit, yesterday morning.

The twin blasts at Sankatmochan temple and Cantonment Railway Station here had claimed at least 17 lives and wounded scores of others at both the places.

Meanwhile, an Anti-Terrorism Wing has been constituted in the Special Task Force (STF) of UP Police.

The DGP said the probe into the bomb blasts was progressing in the right direction and would bear fruits soon.

He said Anti-terrorism Wing had been formed to keep vigil on the movement and activities of terrorists in UP. ''It will also study in detail the terrorist attacks in Ayodhya and Varanasi.'' ''The STF probing the incident is in constant touch with the police of 10 states including J&K, Rajasthan, Delhi and West Bengal,'' he informed.

Mr Singh claimed that ammonium nitrate was used in the Varanasi blasts. He also drew parallel between the Varanasi blasts and the terrorist attacks in Delhi on the eve of Diwali last year.

Yesterday, police had issued computer sketched of two persons found roaming in suspicious manner in Godolia area here, where two live bombs were difused following the blast at Sankatmochan temple.

Earlier, the DGP visited the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanwapi complex and took stock of the security situation.

Meanwhile, the UP Police will re-investigate last year's blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat here and take action against the policemen concerned, if they were found guilty of showing laxity in the earlier probe.

Nine persons had died in the Dashashwamedh Ghat blast in February 2005. Police had claimed that the blast was caused by a domestic cooking gas cylinder. However, people believed it was triggered by explosives.

UNI NAR-VS VD HT2030