NEW DELHI: The government has so far not found any link between the Bombay blasts last week and the Calcutta blast on March 16. The Center has also evolved an action plan to put down the Subversive forces involved in the bomb blasts.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Internal Security, Rajesh Pilot, who had visited Calcutta on Wednesday, in Parliament on Thursday. The minister said his impression was based on the discussions with state government officials and the injured people. However, he hastened to add that nothing could be ruled out _ the minister around the members that state governments all over the country had been asked “to maintain maximum vigil and to step up security measures to the fullest. They have been advised to establish control rooms right up to the district levels for round-the-clock monitoring,” he said. Pilot said investigations were still on and all aspects were being looked into, at the moment, it was not possible to give any definite conclusions. He confirmed that two persons had been arrested in connection with the blasts, The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, had assured him that no one would be spared, the minister told the members.
Tracing the sequence of events On the midnight of March 16, Pilot said that one three storyed and One two storyed buildings were demolished in the explosion, resulting in the death of 62 persons and injuries to 92, Of the injured persons, 45 were hospitalized and the condition of 16 was serious.
The minister said that rescue Operations, were still continuing with the help of police, Central paramilitary forces, Army, firefighting units and civil defence personnel, Pilot said a team of experts from various agencies and disciplines were sent to Calcutta to ascertain the cause of explosion. In addition, expert agencies located in Calcutta were also assisting in the investigations.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 26, 1993
