<p>Before Sunday’s explosions on the Mahabodhi Temple premises in Bodh Gaya, anyone could walk through the door-frame metal detector and enter the complex without being questioned. Only two private armed guards manned the entrance, but none of <br />the visitors were frisked. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Despite two alerts issued by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Home Ministry in the last six months about possible attacks on Mahabodhi Mahavihara, a world heritage site, the security remained as lax as ever.<br /><br />While the first alert was issued in October 2012, the second warning came as recently as June 2013, when it was specifically pointed out that two terrorists - Sarful Rehman and Sahidur Rehman - had sneaked into Bihar to execute the blasts. <br /><br />The Rehman brothers are from Bihar but settled in Scotland and Saudi Arabia respectively. <br /><br />Intelligence sources said the brothers were in constant touch with Indian Mujahideen mastermind Yasin Bhatkal.<br /><br />Following the June alert, Gaya DIG Nayyar Hassnain Khan and Senior SP Ganesh Kumar held a review meeting with members of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC). <br /><br />CCTV surveillance<br /><br />The committee was asked to strengthen security and keep a tab on CCTV footage. The temple has 22 CCTVs, out of which 16 are functional.<br /><br />Till Sunday, the security of the Buddhist shrine was in the hands of the nine-member BTMC. It is headed by the Gaya district magistrate. Four members are Buddhists, while the rest are non-Buddhists. <br /><br />A tussle is also going on within the BTMC, with the Buddhist monks fighting for total control of the temple. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court.<br /><br />A day after the attack, the temple premises have been put under strict surveillance of the Bihar Police, CRPF and Cobra personnel.</p>
<p>Before Sunday’s explosions on the Mahabodhi Temple premises in Bodh Gaya, anyone could walk through the door-frame metal detector and enter the complex without being questioned. Only two private armed guards manned the entrance, but none of <br />the visitors were frisked. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Despite two alerts issued by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Home Ministry in the last six months about possible attacks on Mahabodhi Mahavihara, a world heritage site, the security remained as lax as ever.<br /><br />While the first alert was issued in October 2012, the second warning came as recently as June 2013, when it was specifically pointed out that two terrorists - Sarful Rehman and Sahidur Rehman - had sneaked into Bihar to execute the blasts. <br /><br />The Rehman brothers are from Bihar but settled in Scotland and Saudi Arabia respectively. <br /><br />Intelligence sources said the brothers were in constant touch with Indian Mujahideen mastermind Yasin Bhatkal.<br /><br />Following the June alert, Gaya DIG Nayyar Hassnain Khan and Senior SP Ganesh Kumar held a review meeting with members of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC). <br /><br />CCTV surveillance<br /><br />The committee was asked to strengthen security and keep a tab on CCTV footage. The temple has 22 CCTVs, out of which 16 are functional.<br /><br />Till Sunday, the security of the Buddhist shrine was in the hands of the nine-member BTMC. It is headed by the Gaya district magistrate. Four members are Buddhists, while the rest are non-Buddhists. <br /><br />A tussle is also going on within the BTMC, with the Buddhist monks fighting for total control of the temple. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court.<br /><br />A day after the attack, the temple premises have been put under strict surveillance of the Bihar Police, CRPF and Cobra personnel.</p>
