Patna blasts: Shinde meets Bihar CM Nitish in Delhi

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here on Wednesday.

Shinde, who was supposed to travel to Patna to assess, the situation in the aftermath of Sunday's serial blasts, said yesterday he did not go there as the Bihar Chief Minister was busy in some meeting in Rajgir.

"He is going to meet me tomorrow. I was scheduled to go (to Patna) today, but he has some meeting in Rajgir and is not there," Shinde said yesterday.

"But today, I have sent the Home Secretary, Joint Secretary and Director General of NIA to Patna to assess the situation, and they will report to me," he added.

Shinde reiterated that the Bihar Government had received intelligence inputs from the Centre on specific threats to political rallies.

"We provide both general and specific information regarding possibility of blasts and other incidents. The state police must be alert while rallies are being organized," he said.

Shinde had earlier on Monday said that he would be visiting Patna to take stock of the situation there.

"I am going to Patna tomorrow and will take stock of the situation once I get there, after which I will inform you what the proceedings are. For now, there have been some arrests made. Out of the two injured, one has been arrested and the other is in the hospital," Shinde told media here yesterday.

The Home Minister also said that the agencies are conducting a thorough enquiry.

"I think it is not appropriate to make any comment as the investigation is ongoing," he added.

Bihar Police has arrested two suspected terrorists, including one believed to be mastermind behind the blasts. Several others have also been detained in connection with Sunday's serial blasts in Patna in which six people were killed and 83 injured.

The Bihar Chief Minister, who ended his party's alliance with the BJP in August over the latter's decision to give Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the starring role in its campaign for the national elections, had earlier on Sunday said there should be no politics over the blasts.

Kumar, who announced Rs. five lakhs as financial assistance for the families of the deceased in the Patna serial blasts, confirmed that there was no intelligence input about the explosions.

Kumar also said the Bihar Police is confident of gaining pivotal information from the suspect regarding the investigation, and was confident of reaching solid conclusions about the perpetrators soon.

The low intensity blasts rocked Patna between 9.30 a.m. and 12.45 p.m. on Sunday shortly before Modi's address to a 'Hunkar rally' in Gandhi Maidan.