India wary of finger-pointing

Cabinet Committee on Security takes stock of situation

But, the government stopped short of implicating either Islamabad or any terror group operating from that country.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on Monday said he would await the investigation report before making any definitive statement on the terror organisation responsible for the explosion at Pune’s German Bakery in which nine people were killed.

“No doubt all these activities are being masterminded from across the border but insofar as the Pune blast is concerned, I would wait for the investigations to reveal the details,” Pillai said. A sum of Rs 1 crore may be announced as a reward for anyone providing clue on the culprits who executed the terror attack.

Pillai’s comments came even as the Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, went into a long huddle in Delhi to ensure steps were taken to prevent another terror strike in the country that could endanger the Indo-Pak foreign secretary level talks scheduled for February 25.

Intelligence inputs have clearly warned terrorists planning to come up with “more surprises” in major cities.

What is emerging from the pieces being put together by security agencies and the police is that Pune blasts might have been planned in Karachi where the Lashkar-e-Toiba possibly took the lead in tasking the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to carry out the blast.

Interrogation of arrested IM operatives, who are lodged in some Indian jails, has revealed the likelihood of “Pune-like attacks” in the future. Besides, initial forensics details indicate a pattern linked to bomb explosions in Varanasi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Delhi which were also suspected to have been carried out by the IM.