Terror strikes Bodh Gaya, two monks injured

Blasts rock pilgrimage town; Bihar CM demands deployment of CISF men

A series of blasts on Sunday rocked the pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya and one of the holiest Buddhist religious shrines, the Mahabodhi temple complex, in Bihar, resulting in injury to two foreign monks. The Union home ministry termed it “a terror attack”.

The explosions, the first of its kind to hit the town and the temple, a Unesco heritage site, took place between 5.30 and 6 am. “Four blasts took place inside the Mahabodhi temple complex, three in Karmapa monastery, one each near the famous 80-ft Buddha statue and at the bus stop near bypass. Three live crude bombs were found in the nearby areas and were defused. All were low intensity time-bombs,” said a police official. However, the main temple and the Bodhi Tree, under the shadow of which Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, did not suffer any damage in the blasts, said the state’s Director General of Police, Abhayanand.

One of the injured is a Myanmarese national and the other is from Tibet. They have been admitted to Magadh Medical College and Hospital. So far, no group has claimed responsibility.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who rushed to the blast site, demanded deployment of Central Industrial Security Force for the shrine’s security. “The serial blasts deserve strongest condemnation in strongest possible words as the perpetrators targeted the place of religious faith of crores of people with an aim to create fear among them,” he said.

The government has put all districts on alert and directed the police to ensure foolproof security through the state. Bodh Gaya is considered one of the holiest pilgrimage towns by Buddhists and is frequented by followers of the faith from Sri Lanka, China, Japan and southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the Centre has directed all states to ensure security at Buddhist shrines and Tibetan settlements in the wake of the continuing violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar.