Anger over security failure in city

Lily

B.R
Staff member
New Delhi: An eyewitness claims to have seen the man who planted the bomb at the Delhi High Court yesterday morning.

"The man was tall and he wore a pyjama kurta. Soon after placing the bomb, he began to run way.

"He was in great haste, probably because he wanted to escape the site before the bomb exploded," Pawan Sharma told the Gulf News.

"But the moment I heard that deafening sound of blast and saw smoke billowing outside Gate number five of the High Court, I raised an alarm and started chasing that man. I exhorted others to join me in apprehending him. We chased but he simply vanished in the commotion," Sharma said.

Asked if he could identify the person who planted the bomb, Sharma said: "Yes, I can easily identify the person as I saw him from close quarters. The bomb planter ran away towards the Purana Quila and even Delhi Police personnel in the Police Control Room (PCR) van near the High Court did not bother to nab him even after I told them that I saw that person planting the bomb."

Meanwhile, Delhiites feel disgusted with yet another blast, second this year in the capital, both outside the Delhi High Court.

"[It is] disgusting that such incidents occur in the capital time and again. Delhi being the national capital is supposed to be the safest of all other cities in India, whereas I believe that people living in Delhi are most unprotected. My husband is an advocate and often has cases listed at Delhi High Court. But thankfully he did not have a case at the High Court [yesterday]," Radhika Mehra, a housewife, said.

No intelligence

"When will we learn from our past mistakes? Why was there no intelligence input? When will CCTV be put up at such a vulnerable places," asked visibly shaken student of the nearby Harkishan Public School.

A lawyer of the court, Satya Prakash, said: "The High Court assembled after lunch [yesterday] but most of the matters were adjourned to the next date. The faces were gloomy and [the] atmosphere was very sombre. In the morning, I heard a senior police official saying that the blast happened in ‘public area' and not in the High Court premises. Does the Delhi Police mean they can only secure a ‘premises' and not what they call ‘public area?'"

Adhyayan, a musician, said there was nothing in the name of policing and security mechanisms in India. "Merely speaking about the system will certainly not help. A pragmatic approach is what we need today. There are many more places where planting bombs is the easiest job to do especially railway stations. Nothing can obscure the fact that we still do not have a strong security system. We must come up with a proper security mechanism and policing as we can no more jeopardise our lives for any reason in the world," he said.
 
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