Bomb disposal expert credits his exploit to Lord Hanuman

Varanasi, Mar 12 (UNI) Amarjeet, a constable of the Uttar Pradesh police Bomb Disposal Squad, turned out to be a hero for the people of the holy city, by defusing in time a powerful bomb (much stronger than the other two bombs) in the busy Dwashashamedh area.

The constable deployed at the nearby Gyanwapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple complex recounted that he was called by the police at around 1845 hours, to defuse the cooker bomb left in a bag near the Sahu Hotel. It was a powerful bomb attached to a timer set for 1955 hours.

Amarjeet, a resident of Virbhanpur village of neighbouring Jaunpur district who has attained training in dealing with explosive at the National Security Guard (NSG) headquarters, said ''I have defused crude bombs in the naxal areas and others places in the past, but this bomb was really powerful and could have caused immense damage in a radius of at least 200 metres.'' Two powerful blasts rocked the holy city within a span of fifteen minutes on Tuesday -- first at the Sankat Mochan temple and the other at Varanasi railway station -- resulting in the loss of 17 lives and injuries to more than 100 others.

Amarjeet said it was "Sankat Mochan Hanuman, not me, who saved countless lives through my hands." ''Only when I was able to defuse the bomb did I realise that I had ventured on a task that could have left my family of three sons and wife headless.'' ''Is karya ka shreya mujhe nahin, hanumanji ko jaata hail, jinhone apne 18 saal purane bhakta se ye kaam karwaya'' (It was the power of Hanuman that propelled his 18 year bhakta to embark on complete the life saving task,'' a candid Amarjeet told UNI here today.

UNI ARS NAB RP KN1438