A monk badly injured by the blast in Mahabodhi Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya: Nine blasts in Mahabodhi temple: two injured. What was expected to happen it happened. Nove esplosioni a Bodhgaya, quattro nel tempio principale. Un monaco gravemente ferito.

Il luogo è meta di pellegrinaggio buddista da tutto il mondo, qui è custodito l’albero sotto cui Buddha ebbe “l’illuminazione”. Diverse esplosioni sono avvenute a Bodh Gaya, nel tempio sacro buddista. Secondo la polizia, vi sarebbero due feriti. Il tempio è noto per l’albero sacro dove si sarebbe sempre seduto Buddha e che è meta di pellegrinaggio da tutto il mondo. Il tempio di Bodh Gaya è uno dei più importanti luoghi sacri della religione buddista.  Bodh Gaya fu il luogo dove Siddhartha Gautama, verso il 530 a.C., raggiunse l’illuminazione e divenne il Buddha storico sotto un ficus religiosa. Bodh Gaya divenne luogo di pellegrinaggio subito dopo la morte del Buddha. feriti sono due monaci buddisti. “Sei esplosioni di debole potenza si sono verificate stamattina, quattro all’interno e due all’esterno del tempio”, precisa l’ufficiale di polizia Ravinder Kumar. Un settimo ordigno è stato disinnescato vicino l’enorme statua di Buddha, alta 24 metri.

Ciò che era previsto è accaduto. di Valentino Giacomin.

Ho la fortuna che non ero lì questa mattina grazie ad alcuni lavori che devono fare a Sarnath, altrimenti avrei potuto essere tra i feriti. In realtà, il momento dell’esplosione è quello in cui solitamente facciop visita allo Stupa, con alcuni studenti Chakma. Certo, sono molto triste per quello che è successo, ma sono anche “arrabbiato” per l’atteggiamento insensibile del Mahabodhi Management (BTMC) che non non si curava molto della sicurezza del luogo sacro. In realtà, ho le foto di centinaia di pellegrini che dormono all’interno del Tempio durante la notte, quando le guardie di sicurezza sono quasi del tutto assenti all’interno del Tempio. È facile per i ladri, i terroristi, durante la notte fare ciò che vogliono, come, per esempio, mettere bombe come è successo questa notte. Si potrebbe chiedere perché questo lassismo da parte del BTMC. Il motivo è la corruzione. I pellegrini sono invitati a pagare per essere autorizzati a rimanere – illegalmente – all’interno del Tempio. Recentemente il numero di pellegrini notturni si stava gonfiando di giorno in giorno. La settimana scorsa erano circa trecento. Le esplosioni sono anche i risultati di questa vergognosa situazione. https://www.facebook.com/valentino.giacomin.7?hc_location=stream

Bodhgaya: Nine blasts in Mahabodhi temple; two injured. What was expected to happen it happened.
Nine serial blasts in Bodhgaya, four in the main Temple. One monks seriously injured.
I am lucky I was not there this morning thanks to some work have to do in Sarnath, otherwise I could be among the injured people. In fact, the time of the blast is the time I used to be at the Stupa, with some chakma students.
Of course, i am very sad for what happened, but I am also “angry” for the callous attitude of Mahabodhi Management (BTMC) that did not care a bit about sdecurity. In fact, I have photos of hundredths pilgrims sleeping inside the Temple during the night, when the security guards are almost totally absent inside the Temple. It is easy for thieves, terrorists, during the night, to do whatever they want, like, for instance, planting bombs as it happened this night. We could wonder why this laxity from BTMC. The reason is corruption. Pilgrims are requested to pay to be allowed to remain – illegally – inside the Temple. Recently the number of night-pilgrims was swelling day by day. Last week they were about three hundred. The blasts are also the results of this shameful situation. https://www.facebook.com/valentino.giacomin.7?hc_location=stream

Bodhgaya: Two people have been injured in a series of blasts inside the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar’s Bodhgaya district. The first blast took place inside the temple at 5:30 am, followed by seven successive explosions in the next half hour. (See pics)
While four of the blasts took place inside the Mahabodhi temple, the other four exploded outside. Another two live bombs were reportedly found near the temple, and defused.
Reports say all blasts were of low-intensity and there has been no damage to the temple shrine. “The holy bodhi tree is safe and there is no damage to it,” Bihar police chief Abhayanand told AFP while confirming the blasts and injuries.
There were not too many people inside the temple when the blasts took place. The two injured, reportedly a Buddhist monk from Myanmar and a pilgrim, have been rushed to a hospital.
“We were doing our daily rituals in the temple when we heard a big explosion,” said an eyewitness.
Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami said the blasts were a “terror attack.” (Read)
Teams from the National Investigation Agency and the National Security Guard are on their way to Bodhgaya. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has reached the blast site. Senior police officer SK Bhardwaj said there have been intelligence reports about the possibility of attacks on the shrines but he did not give any details. (Why were intel warnings ignored, asks BJP)
The temple premises have been cordoned off. Reports say security has been beefed up in and around other religious sites of the district. Last year, security of the Mahabodhi temple was handed over to the Special Task Force of Bihar Police. A mock drill was carried out at the temple by the district administration in the last week of June.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned today’s blasts, saying “such attacks on religious places will never be tolerated.” (Read) The Buddhist shrines in Bodhgaya, a town 130 kilometers south of Patna, attract a large number of pilgrims, especially from Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The main pilgrimage starts in September. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/five-blasts-inside-bihar-temple-two-injured-388891

Administration to be blamed for shameful act

Despite multiple meetings by the police and the administration and intelligence inputs it was regrettable that nearly eight blasts rocked the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar’s Gaya district. The explosions injured two persons, including a Burmese monk, Pragya Deep, Treasurer of the All India Bhiku Sangha told The Hindu on the phone from Bodh Gaya.

“The administration had prior information. There was a report of the Intelligence Bureau. A series of security review meetings have been conducted. There have been at least five to six meetings. It’s shameful that despite this, the blasts have taken place. This is a mistake on the part of the administration,” Pragya Deep said. He was conducting a meeting in the Sangha’s office, about 10 minutes from the Mahabodhi temple, when he heard sounds of the blast. “We immediately left for the temple, where we were informed by the monks there of the serial explosions. The explosions began around 5.15 a.m. and lasted for half an hour,” he said. The first blast took place on the left of the sacred Bodhi tree where the Buddha’s footprints are located. The second blast site was the candle house where the bomb was kept in an ambulance located outside. The third explosion was outside the Animesh Lochan Chaitya, one of the places associated with enlightenment of Lord Buddha. “The Buddha is believed to have stood here for seven days looking at the Bodhi tree,” Pragya Deep said. The next blast was near a wall railing that is the entry point for the monks. “This could have been intended to cause loss of life, but thankfully not many people were there around that time.” One Burmese monk Vishwavidya was injured in this blast. He sustained injuries in the leg, hand, head and chest. He is being treated at the local government hospital. A staff member of the Nirmal Temple was also injured in the explosion. “Both of them are out of danger,” Pragya Deep said. The next three bombs went off in a car outside the Karma Temple. A final blast was near the famous Japanese Buddha statue. “Two bombs were kept near the statue. One went off while one which was placed near the feet did not explode. Had it gone off, the damage would have been great,” Pragya Deep said. There is a sense of fear among the monks at the temple. “It’s natural to feel fear. I don’t know why the temple was made the target. We were never involved in any kind of violence. Neither is there any ongoing religious conflict involving the Buddhist community,” Pragya Deep said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/administration-to-be-blamed-for-shameful-act/article4891276.ece

Nine blasts rock temple town Bodhgaya in Bihar, two injured
Terror struck the temple town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar, as nine serial explosions rocked the Mahabodhi Temple complex on Sunday morning. Two tourists, including a monk from Myanmar, have been injured in the blasts. The injured are being treated at the Anugrah Narain Magadh Medical College hospital.
Union home secretary Anil Goswami confirmed that the Bodh Gaya blasts were a terror attack.
Bihar Police suspect the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the temple blasts.
According to Gaya Police, the blasts took place in quick succession between 5.30am and 6am in the temple complex and near the Mahabodhi tree. One blast was reported from a bus stand.
One of the blasts took place just under the enlightenment tree causing partial damage to the Buddha footprints in the shrine premises. Four blasts took place inside the shrine premises, while another three blasts took place in the Tregar monastery premises. The Tregar monastery belongs to the Karmapa, the second most important spiritual leader. One blast each took place at the great Buddha statue and a bus parked on the Sujata bypass.
Arvind Singh, a member of Mahabodhi Temple Management Commitee said two other bombs, one near the 80 feet statue and one at bus stand have been defused. Zonal IG Sushil Khopade confirmed eight blasts. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar reached Bodh Gaya to take stock of the situation. He took a round of the Mahabodhi Temple complex and held a meeting with the officials. BJP activists led by former minister Prem Kumar greeted Nitish Kumar with ‘go back’ slogans outside the temple main gate. JD(U) workers present there raised pro-Nitish slogans and countered the protesting BJP workers. Cops have sealed the entry routes to the shrine. A NIA team is expected to arrive shortly for the probe. “A team of NIA officers is coming to Bodh Gaya from Kolkata,” DIG special branch Parasnath said. The DIG said, “The sanctum sanctorum of the Mahabodhi Temple is intact. The temple premises have been sanitised.” The secretary of the Bodh Gaya committee Dorji said, “There were four blasts inside the temple premises. Fortunately, there was no damage to the Bodhi Tree or the main temple structure.”
“In the first blast which took place near the Bodhi tree, a table was blown up because of which two persons were injured. The second blast, I think, was inside the enclosure where books were kept. The furniture was damaged but there was no damage to the monuments or statues,” he said.
Asked about the nature of explosives used, S K Bharadwaj, ADG (Law and Order) said they were low intensity time bombs. He said, “We got information about six-seven months back that there may be a terror attack on the Mahabodhi temple. After that we had beefed up secuirty and deployed extra forces”.
Bodh Gaya Buddhist temple, around 10 km from Gaya and 100 km from capital Patna, is world famous. Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment here under the Mahabodhi tree in the temple premises.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama makes frequent trips to Bodh Gaya and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited it six months back. A total of 52 countries have established their monasteries here. https://www.facebook.com/BuddhistPeople