A team from the National Investigation Team (NIA) on Saturday reached Bodh Gaya, where two cane bombs were found on Friday night after a low-intensity explosion near the Kalchakra ground. Tibetan spiritual guru, the Dalai Lama, and a host of foreign Buddhist pilgrims, are camping at Bodh Gaya amid tight security to participate in a month-long Kalchakra puja since January 2.
NIA officials believe the low-intensity explosion must have taken place near a generator outside Kalchakra ground from where a burst thermos flask was found on Friday evening. The local police’s search operation led to the recovery of two cane bombs, one near Gate Number 4 of the Mahabodhi temple and another near the Sri Lankan monastery.
The Dalai Lama had finished his religious discourse and retired for the day when the blast was heard. Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from several countries, including popular Hollywood star Richard Gere, have come to participate in the Kalchakra puja and to hear the Dalai Lama's discourses. “We always make elaborate security arrangement for such events and vigilant police [personnel] have recovered the two bombs from the site,” said Inspector General of Police-Patna Zone (IGP) Nayyar Husnain Khan.
“Vigil has been intensified in the entire Bodh Gaya town. Every visitor is being thoroughly checked and has to pass through metal detector gates,” said senior police official Vinay Kumar. Security for the Dalai Lama, who is staying in the Tibetan temple till February 2, has also been heightened.
