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Multiple blasts at Buddhist sites in east India injure 2
Explosions at some of Buddhism's holiest sites
A series of blasts hit three Buddhist sites in eastern India early Sunday, injuring at least two people and drawing condemnation from the prime minister.
Senior police officer S.K. Bhardwaj said a gate at one of the two temples that was hit was badly damaged in Bodhgaya, a town 130 kilometres south of Patna, the capital of Bihar state. No other damage was reported to the Buddhist sites.
Junior Home Minister R.P.N. Singh said that no one claimed responsibility for the explosions and that an investigation would be carried out to determine who was involved.
Four blasts took place on the grounds of the Mahabodhi Temple, or the Great Awakening Temple, Bhardwaj said. Another four explosions were reported at the nearby Karma temple and at a site with a 55-metre-tall Buddhist tower.
Abhyanand, the director-general of state police, said the blasts ranged from low to high intensity. He also said police recovered two unexploded bombs, which were defused in the area. Abhyanand uses only one name.
A Tibetan and a pilgrim from Myanmar received minor injuries in the blast at the Mahabodhi Temple and were taken to a hospital, Bhardwaj said, adding that a temple gate was badly damaged.
World heritage site
Another explosion damaged an empty tourist bus parked near the Mahabodhi Temple, he said. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
There were few people at the popular pilgrimage centres, which were targeted for the first time, Bhardwaj said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the blasts, saying "such attacks on religious places will never be tolerated."
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, also condemned the explosions.
"It's very sad. It's a few individuals," he told reporters during a visit to the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The Buddhist sites attract a large number of pilgrims, especially from Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, but the main pilgrimage starts in September.
Bhardwaj said there have been intelligence reports about the possibility of attacks on the sites, but he did not give any details.
Dalai Lama's security reviewed after Bodh Gaya blasts
The Dalai Lama is currently in Karnataka where he participated in functions related to his 78th birthday Saturday in Bylakuppe, one of the largest settlements of the exiles in India.
The security of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has been reviewed after the blasts in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town early Sunday morning. The Dalai Lama's private office here said his security had been stepped up.
"We have issued an advisory to His Holiness' personal security officials," Ngodup Dorjee, Central Tibetan Administration's (CTA) department of security secretary, told IANS.
"The Dalai Lama has already been provided Z-plus category security (by the Indian government). But we have beefed up the security of his official palace and Tsuglagkhang temple (close to the palace) too," he said.
Dorjee said a meeting would be held here, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Monday to review security arrangements of Tibetan monasteries and temples located across India.
Tibetan spiritual leaders the Dalai Lama and 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who are residing in Dharamsala's suburb McLeodganj, which is home to a large Tibetan population, are frequent visitors at the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town, where nine blasts took place early Sunday morning.
The Dalai Lama is currently in Karnataka where he participated in functions related to his 78th birthday Saturday in Bylakuppe, one of the largest settlements of the exiles in India.
Extra force has been put in place both at the Dalai Lama's palace and the Gyuto Tantric Monastic University, where the Karmapa resides, after the Bodh Gaya blasts, Superintendent of Police Balbir Thakur said.
"Police surveillance has been intensified in and around McLeodganj. We are in regular touch with the central intelligence agencies," he added.
Thakur said one of the two entry gates to the Tsuglagkhang temple has been closed and extra force has been deployed there.
"Electronic items, including camera and mobile, will not be allowed in the temple complex," he added.
The Dalai Lama visited Bodh Gaya twice in the past three years for teachings and religious functions, his private office said.
"His Holiness participated in the 'Kalachakra' (Wheel of Time) ceremony and prayed for world peace at Bodh Gaya from Jan 1 to 10, 2012," an official said.
In 2010, the Nobel laureate was in Bodh Gaya from January 4 to 10.
The Dalai Lama lives in exile along with some 140,000 Tibetans, over 100,000 of them in India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.
The Tibetan exile administration is based in this northern Indian hill town, but is not recognised by any country.
Explosions at some of Buddhism's holiest sites
A series of blasts hit three Buddhist sites in eastern India early Sunday, injuring at least two people and drawing condemnation from the prime minister.
Senior police officer S.K. Bhardwaj said a gate at one of the two temples that was hit was badly damaged in Bodhgaya, a town 130 kilometres south of Patna, the capital of Bihar state. No other damage was reported to the Buddhist sites.
Junior Home Minister R.P.N. Singh said that no one claimed responsibility for the explosions and that an investigation would be carried out to determine who was involved.
Four blasts took place on the grounds of the Mahabodhi Temple, or the Great Awakening Temple, Bhardwaj said. Another four explosions were reported at the nearby Karma temple and at a site with a 55-metre-tall Buddhist tower.
Abhyanand, the director-general of state police, said the blasts ranged from low to high intensity. He also said police recovered two unexploded bombs, which were defused in the area. Abhyanand uses only one name.
A Tibetan and a pilgrim from Myanmar received minor injuries in the blast at the Mahabodhi Temple and were taken to a hospital, Bhardwaj said, adding that a temple gate was badly damaged.
World heritage site
Another explosion damaged an empty tourist bus parked near the Mahabodhi Temple, he said. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
There were few people at the popular pilgrimage centres, which were targeted for the first time, Bhardwaj said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the blasts, saying "such attacks on religious places will never be tolerated."
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, also condemned the explosions.
"It's very sad. It's a few individuals," he told reporters during a visit to the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The Buddhist sites attract a large number of pilgrims, especially from Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, but the main pilgrimage starts in September.
Bhardwaj said there have been intelligence reports about the possibility of attacks on the sites, but he did not give any details.
Dalai Lama's security reviewed after Bodh Gaya blasts
The Dalai Lama is currently in Karnataka where he participated in functions related to his 78th birthday Saturday in Bylakuppe, one of the largest settlements of the exiles in India.
The security of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has been reviewed after the blasts in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town early Sunday morning. The Dalai Lama's private office here said his security had been stepped up.
"We have issued an advisory to His Holiness' personal security officials," Ngodup Dorjee, Central Tibetan Administration's (CTA) department of security secretary, told IANS.
"The Dalai Lama has already been provided Z-plus category security (by the Indian government). But we have beefed up the security of his official palace and Tsuglagkhang temple (close to the palace) too," he said.
Dorjee said a meeting would be held here, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Monday to review security arrangements of Tibetan monasteries and temples located across India.
Tibetan spiritual leaders the Dalai Lama and 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who are residing in Dharamsala's suburb McLeodganj, which is home to a large Tibetan population, are frequent visitors at the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town, where nine blasts took place early Sunday morning.
The Dalai Lama is currently in Karnataka where he participated in functions related to his 78th birthday Saturday in Bylakuppe, one of the largest settlements of the exiles in India.
Extra force has been put in place both at the Dalai Lama's palace and the Gyuto Tantric Monastic University, where the Karmapa resides, after the Bodh Gaya blasts, Superintendent of Police Balbir Thakur said.
"Police surveillance has been intensified in and around McLeodganj. We are in regular touch with the central intelligence agencies," he added.
Thakur said one of the two entry gates to the Tsuglagkhang temple has been closed and extra force has been deployed there.
"Electronic items, including camera and mobile, will not be allowed in the temple complex," he added.
The Dalai Lama visited Bodh Gaya twice in the past three years for teachings and religious functions, his private office said.
"His Holiness participated in the 'Kalachakra' (Wheel of Time) ceremony and prayed for world peace at Bodh Gaya from Jan 1 to 10, 2012," an official said.
In 2010, the Nobel laureate was in Bodh Gaya from January 4 to 10.
The Dalai Lama lives in exile along with some 140,000 Tibetans, over 100,000 of them in India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.
The Tibetan exile administration is based in this northern Indian hill town, but is not recognised by any country.
