Bihar govt denies charges of security lapses

State govt says it will now analyse CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators

The state government has charges allegations that it ignored intelligence inputs on possible terror attacks at Bodh Gaya and Mahabodhi temple.

Last year, the Delhi Police had claimed to have foiled a fidayeen attack in the town with the arrest of suspected Indian Mujahideen elements who wanted to avenge "atrocities" against Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine province.

Two months earlier, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had also warned the state government about a possible terror attack at the Mahabodhi temple complex. "We got information about six-seven months back that there might be a terror attack in the Mahabodhi temple. However, in Bodh Gaya, security arrangements are only outside the temple, while the security inside is looked after by temple officials," a police officer said.

The state government has said it would now analyse the CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said: "We had earlier examined security arrangements and made necessary changes. However, these blasts happened despite that. We will now modify security here. These blasts were carried out to create fear among the pilgrims and divide the society." Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also demanded deployment of CISF for security of the shrine.

Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), with which Kumar's party had recently broke its 17-year-old alliance, has came down heavily on the state and central government on alleged security lapses. Kumar's former deputy and senior leader of BJP, Sushil Kumar Modi, assailed state and central government for the attack. He claimed that no measures were taken to prevent the attacks despite clear intelligence inputs and said the central and state governments cannot escape the blame.