Hindustan Times (Amritsar)

Security boosted for ‘prime target’ Dalai

- Anil Kumar Ojha anil.kumar2@hindustant­imes.com

GAY A: Security in and around Bodh Gay a and cover for Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama has been intensifie­d in view of a threat to the latter after two bombs were recovered from the Mahabodhi temple on Saturday.

These arrangemen­ts will continue till the Tibetan spiritual leader, who is also a Noble laureate, stays in the city.

La ma, who arrived in the city on January 1 on a 50-day visit,cut his visit to 30 days earlier this month. He will now be returning on February 3.

Senior police officials said Sanjay Singh, additional SP, Bihar police, has been given charge ofthe spiritual leader’s security.

Bachhu Singh Mee na, I G( security ), said 200 CCTV cameras have been installed within a 1 km radius of the temple complex. He said five quick response teams have been deputed to frisk visitors and keep an eye on the area. Police sources said that while Dalai Lam a was the prime target, the miscreants who planted the bombs had planned mass destructio­n.

National Security Guard( NS G) sources said the bombs could have killed scores of people if they had gone off during the prayer sessions.

“The two bombs comprised Neo Gel-90 explosives developed for going off underwater, ammonium nitrate, fluoride, timer, pressure devices that are generally in possession of internal terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (Le T ). Such explosive scan break hills and crack rocky mountains ,” said a senior official requesting anonymity.

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