India says ‘terror’ attack after blasts at Mahabodhi Temple

Monday, 8 July 2013 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: A series of explosions in and around Buddhism’s holiest shrine in Bihar injured two persons early on Sunday, in what the Indian Government is describing as a “terror” attack. The Mahabodhi Temple complex is located in Bodh Gaya, the place where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. “It is a terror attack ... no outfit has claimed credit for these attacks,” Junior Home Minister R.P.N. Singh told Times Now television. The explosions, which occurred between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., injured two persons, Bihar Police Chief Abhayanand told reporters in Patna.

Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami said four blasts occurred inside the Mahabodhi Temple premises, three blasts at Tergar monastery and another near the famous 80-foot Buddha statue. A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the blasts. An eyewitness monk said he heard explosions near the Bodhi tree, a sacred fig near the Mahabodhi Temple, which is said to be a descendent of the one Lord Buddha sat under for three days and nights in the sixth century BC, before getting enlightenment. “The place where we offer butter lamps, there was one explosion there. The incident occurred behind the Bodhi Tree. Four explosions have been heard inside the temple premises,” he said.