5 Pilgrimage Centres In India Targeted By Terrorists

Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Varanasi

The residents of the holiest Hindu cities in India were shocked to hear about two blasts which rocked the city in the year 2008, which occurred simultaneously. The first one happened at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple and since it was Tuesday, a special day for Lord Hanuman, it was crowded with devotees from various parts of the state. Around 20 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in the two blasts and a LeT agent suspected behind the attack was handed over to West Bengal police. The bomb with ammonium nitrate in it was used for the explosion and it was connected to timer devices.

Amarnath Pilgrims

Three IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were found in a bus on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway with around 45 Amarnath pilgrims, previous year. Since the bus conductor noticed suspicious objects and informed the security officials, a major attack was avoided. The IEDs (RDX used) were put inside pressure cookers and were controlled with the help of remotes. Apart from this there are many other cases of attacks on Amarnath pilgrims, which lead to huge decline in the number of devotees visiting the holy shrine.

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