Police could have prevented blast

Abdullah Ansari, a 75-year-old transporter from Malegaon, 280 km northeast of Mumbai, would have saved four lives had police acted on his alert. Presley Thomas reports.

Abdullah Ansari, a 75-year-old transporter from Maharashtra’s powerloom town of Malegaon, 280 km northeast of Mumbai, would have saved four lives and many limbs had police acted on his alert.

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He said he had alerted police officials at the local Daregaon police station near which the blast took place, about an unclaimed bike on Monday night, but they took no action.

The bomb, planted on an LML Freedom bike at Dhiku Chowk, a crowded market crossroad, went off at 9.33 pm. It killed four and injured more than 80.

“The police station is just 10 metres away from the bomb site. But when I found the bike suspicious and reported it, they took no action,” said Ansari, who suffered burn injuries to his head, hand and feet.