People's Democracy

Yechury Visits Blasts Sites, Meets Injured Victims

Yechury and P Madhu visiting the bomb site in Lumbini Park

STRONGLY condemning the bomb blasts that took place in Hyderabad on August 25 at Gokul chat bhandar and Lumbini park in which 42 people were killed and 54 people injured, Sitaram Yechury along with P Madhu, central committee member of the CPI(M) and MP, visited both the sites and talked to the injured on August 26.

Talking to the media, Sitaram found fault with the government for its failure in taking adequate security measures, though the intelligence agencies warned beforehand. He said that the death toll could have been higher but for detection of two more live bombs and their defusing. Had the government taken adequate steps for security, heeding the warnings of intelligence agencies, the incidents could have been prevented, he said. Though it was not the time to apportion the blame, a post-mortem should be conducted on the lapses that had helped the terrorists succeed in their plan, he said.

Referring to the blast at Lumbini park which is visited by hundreds of people daily, Sitaram said that there was need to reconsider the decision to hand over security at such public places to private agencies. The incidents in Hyderabad were not sporadic but a part of the efforts of terrorists to trigger a series of blasts, Sitaram said. It was appalling that the blasts had taken place within one hundred days of blasts that had taken place at Mecca masjid in which several people died, he said. Sitaram asked the central and state governments to initiate steps to identify and nab the culprits, besides taking adequate steps to see that no such incident recurred.