Bodh Gaya blasts: despite repeated alerts, state failed to act timely

Bihar was repeatedly warned during the last nine months, at least twice by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and once by the Delhi police, with specific alerts about Bodhgaya but still the terrorists managed to execute 10 blasts at the Buddhist shrine on Sunday.

Bihar was repeatedly warned during the last nine months, at least twice by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and once by the Delhi police, with specific alerts about Bodhgaya but still the terrorists managed to execute 10 blasts at the Buddhist shrine on Sunday.

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“In October last year a specific intelligence input about Bodhgaya was shared with Bihar by the Delhi police and the IB. As a follow-up action, it was discussed in the Bihar Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (sMAC) meeting also. Another input went in February this year after the Dilsukhnagar blast in Hyderabad.

This alert was general in nature. Then information came in June this year about two terror suspects entering in the state to do something spectacular,” said a security source.

Sharing of intelligence inputs between the central intelligence agencies and state police is the responsibility of the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) established after the Kargil war but it remained almost dormant till the 26/11 attacks of Mumbai. P Chidambaram asked the IB to strengthen it and a joint director level officer was made in charge of the MAC.

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In cases where the intelligence input is more specific and cannot be put into writing, the IB director himself calls the state DGP concerned or sometime he visits the state as well.

“IB director Syed Asif Ibrahim visited Jammu and Kashmir before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently traveled to the state for opening of Banihal-Qazigund rail tunnel to precautionary measures to be taken in the wake of some intelligence inputs,” said a source.

Now the government plans to bring down MAC at the district level in the second phase of its expansion that was set in motion after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.