'Patna, Bodh Gaya, Bangalore terror cases solved'

The terror blasts at Patna, Bangalore and Bodh Gaya this year have been solved, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today, but did not elaborate.

The terror blasts at Patna, Bangalore and Bodh Gaya this year have been solved, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday, but did not elaborate.

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“The government has ensured that there was no repeat of 26/11 (2008 Mumbai terror siege) type of attack,” he said at the foundation laying ceremony of the NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) data centre in New Delhi.

“Year 2013 witnessed four bomb blast cases. Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bodh Gaya and Patna suffered… I am happy to say that Bangalore, Bodh Gaya and Patna blast cases have been solved.”

While in Bodh Gaya, the famous Buddhist monastery was targeted by terror blasts, in Patna explosions rocked a ground where BJP prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to hold a rally.

In Bangalore in April, blasts rocked the area close to the BJP office.

Shinde said effective apparatus such as the NATGRID were essential because these gave timely and actionable information to intelligence and security agencies in their attempt to thwart nefarious designs.

“I assure the people of this great nation that the resolve of Government of India to provide safety and security to all cannot be challenged. (The) hanging of Afzal Guru, Ajmal Kasab and the arrests of Yasin Bhatkal, Tunda, Haddi and solving blasts cases in no time, proves this resolve. Government will deal with iron fist when it comes to terrorism,” he said.

The NATGRID data centre and other administrative infrastructure, which will be completed in the next 30 months, inside a CRPF campus in south Delhi, will cost Rs 234 crore.

It will have some of the most modern ergonomics and will be armed with sophisticated gadgetry.

Shinde stressed on the need to have good intelligence inputs for security agencies.

"For our men and women who ensure the internal security of the nation, effective and timely intelligence is often what stands between saving precious lives and possible disaster. It is for this reason that our government resolved to create a tool that would support the intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the vital work that they do.”

He added, "One of the important lessons that emerged from the 26/11 attacks was that information and indicators of possible attacks were present in different parts of the system but there was no technological framework to help agencies put the pieces together to develop actionable and timely intelligence.

“Over the past few years we have also seen that terrorists are using technology to radicalise, communicate, raise and move funds and even reconnaissance target areas — all the while remaining under the radar.”

Shinde gave the example of the 2008 Mumbai attacks where the cross-border handlers of the 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, who had sneaked into the metropolitan city, were in touch with them through a secure communication link.

"The NATGRID is a crucial initiative that will help plug our vulnerabilities by upgrading and enhancing our capability to detect and respond to such threats as early as possible.

“The NATGRID framework will use cutting edge technology to help strengthen the intelligence and law enforcement agency's ability to detect terrorist activity and swiftly piece together information that could help preempt attacks or find the perpetrators in the unfortunate event," he said.

Shinde warned terrorists and evil minds not to mess with the security mechanism in India.

"By creating a system like NATGRID, the government is also sending out a strong message to our enemies, potential terrorists and their sympathisers that there is a high likelihood of them getting caught.”

He also appealed to "the best Indian minds to come forward and join NATGRID, one of India's most prestigious projects, and contribute to the cause of national security."