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Okhla resident devastated at Delhi blast siteOT, September 9, 2011 IST Okhla Times Reporter/Okhla
When a high intensity briefcase bomb went off in the Delhi High Court on the morning of September 7, Mohd Aslam Khan – advocate and a resident of Okhla – was a few metres from the blast site parking his car. With most of the space outside gate number 4 and 5 full where the blast struck, Khan went on the back side to place his car. It was only after he had come out of his car that he heard a deafening sound. “Initially I couldn’t understand. Other people too were confused. It was only after some time that I came to know that it was a blast,” Khan tells OKHLA TIMES. There was chaos as people started running away from the spot, he claims. “We had not expected such an incident to happen in the High Court. It was shocking. I don’t have words to explain what followed,” he says. The blast took many off guard as some 11 people were killed and 75 injured. Many sustained life-threatening injuries and were rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Khan, who is also president Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) lawyers’ forum Delhi, says that some two advocates died in the blast. On September 8 his forum held a meeting and condemned the blast. “Fair inquiry should be done and perpetrators of the crime should be punished,” adds Khan, who a few hours ago had visited the hospital to find out the conidtions of some of his hospitalised colleagues. Search is on to nab the culprits with the investigators claiming that they have traced the Harkat-ul -Jehadi Islami email claiming responsibility for the blast. The deadly blast has once again raised the question of police failure to stop terror attacks in Delhi. Condemning the blast, another Okhla resident Kamran Mufeed wrote on Facebook: “Shocking and tragic... Delhi High Court rocked by blast around 10:15am. Huji takes the responsibility. May God punish the wrongdoers and give peace to sufferers.” Many Jamia Millia Islamia alumni expressed their disbelief and shock at the blast. Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, working president of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations that has its headquarters at Abul Fazal Enclave, forcefully condemned the terrorist and criminal attack. He says that the AIMMM demands an honest probe taking into account all possible beneficiaries of this criminal act. He cautions that the past practice of quickly pointing to some so-called “Muslim” organisations should not be repeated in order to allow the real criminals to cover their tracks. The AIMMM Working President further demands that people directly responsible for intelligence and security in Delhi must be punished by immediate suspension and should be sacked if, after an enquiry, found negligent and guilty. Failure to install CCTVs at the High Court gates and other similar places in the capital clearly shows the criminal and negligent attitude of the police and security agencies despite the recurrence of terrorist attacks in the capital, he claims. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind that also has its headquarters in the locality terms the Delhi High Court blast as a barbaric and inhuman act. Condemning the attack, it urges the government to conduct a high-level inquiry to bring the culprits to justice. Nusrat Ali, secretary general, in a statement says: “The occurrence of the second blast within four months on an important public place like High Court, indicates the barbaric and cruel mentality of the perpetrators. It is tragic that people who come to seek justice have been made the victims of the most inhumane attacks.” He expresses his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the blasts. Calling it wanton terrorism and mindless blood-letting, London-based British Indian Muslims have strongly condemned the blast. “We strongly condemn such cowardly and mindless acts of the desecration of human lives. Our thoughts go with the victims and their relatives.” chairman of Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM), Mr Munaf Zeena said in a statement. “We hope and pray that like several other similar occasions Indians will once again stand united in this hour of tragedy and will foil the plans by the perpetrators to terrorise ordinary people or push the country in communal frenzy. We also urge the intelligence and law enforcement agencies and media outlets not to indulge in speculations and start witch hunting.” Zeena added. Post a comment Top News
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