Shinde says blasts reaction to Kasab, Afzal hanging

Terming the Hyderabad twin blasts a reaction to executions of terror convicts Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Sunday stressed the need for the anti-terror hub and said he will talk to various chief ministers who were opposed to it.

‘We have been giving terror alerts throughout the country. We were expecting, when there have been two executions in the country, some reactions were bound to happen,’ Shinde told media persons here.

He exuded confidence that the forensic tests done in the aftermath of the blasts will yield results and the culprits would be arrested soon.

The twin bomb blasts in crowded Dilsukhnagar area of the Andhra Pradesh capital Thursday evening claimed 16 lives and left 117 wounded.

Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the ten Pakistani terrorists who attacked Mumbai 26/11, was hanged 21 Nov last year. Afzal Guru was executed 9 Feb for his role in the attack on Parliament House on 13 Dec, 2001.

Stressing the need for the formation of the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Shinde said he was hopeful of getting the cooperation of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is among several chief ministers to oppose the move.

‘We will pursue NCTC and I will talk to those who have expressed reservation over it. I have already taken up the matter with Mamataji. She is very cooperative on this issue,’ said Shinde.

Meanwhile, three days after the twin bomb blasts, a letter said to be sent by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility and threatened more terror attacks.

BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit president G. Kishan Reddy received a letter purportedly written by the LeT, threatening to attack Begum Bazaar, a major business centre of the city. The LeT, in the letter, also claimed responsibility for Thursday’s terror attacks in Dilsukhnagar.

Kishan Reddy said the letter written in English and Urdu was handed over to the Abids police station.