Indian police on Monday probed a deadly restaurant bombing that killed nine people, including two foreigners, amid calls for swift
justice and questions over its impact on talks with Pakistan.
The government also asked for access to a United States-Pakistani national awaiting trial on terror charges in the United States who stayed at a religious retreat near the blast site while allegedly scouting possible targets.
Media reports sought to link Saturday’s bombing at the popular German Bakery in Pune, western India, to previous attacks by an India-based Islamist movement, fearing sleeper cells were now active and further strikes likely.
Police in the case are examining security camera footage and forensic evidence. Explosives hidden in an abandoned rucksack under a table are thought to have been triggered remotely.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for swift, coordinated action “so that the culprits responsible for this heinous act are identified and brought to justice” quickly, his office said on Sunday.
Pune police commissioner Satyapal Singh said: “We are 100% confident of solving the case soon. Various agencies are investigating the matter.”
But he refused to comment on claims that the Indian Mujahideen, a previously little-known group which claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in New Delhi in September 2008, could be behind the attack.
The Times of India said on Monday that the bombing, which destroyed the restaurant, should be seen in the context of the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan and a major coalition offensive in southern Afghanistan.
Fragile security system’
Pakistan-based Islamists “could well be trying to open up a conflict zone on Pakistan’s eastern front, which would deflect attention from them”, an editorial in the daily said.
On Friday, India and Pakistan agreed to high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25. The bombing — the first major attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre blamed on the banned Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — came just a day after New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to resume official talks.
An initial meeting between their foreign secretaries has been scheduled for February 25.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has condemned the bombing.
But India’s main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the attack — which triggered heightened security across the country — underscored fears the government had acted rashly in agreeing to resume talks.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said Pune was “a grim reminder about the fragility of our security system, and the adventurous track that we are walking.
“The whole nation is wondering today as to what has changed that we decided to change our diplomatic position. When terror threatens India, then not talking is also a legitimate diplomatic option,” he said.
Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has declined to speculate on who was responsible but said the government was “pursuing the case of access to David Headley” as he stayed at the nearby Osho Ashram on a previous visit to Pune.
Headley (49) is alleged to have identified targets for the LeT.
He denies the charges.
‘Safest city has turned into terror city’
Pune, meanwhile, limped back to normal on Sunday but noticeably fewer people were seen on the streets.
Hundreds of people joined peace marches to the blast site, carrying candles, singing patriotic songs and carrying banners. One slogan read: “Safest city has turned into terror city. Let us go beyond politics.”
Chronology of attacks
2003
March: Eleven people killed in a bomb attack aboard a commuter train in Mumbai.
2004
August: Six people killed in two car bomb blasts in Mumbai.
2005
October: Three powerful bombs explode in busy New Delhi markets a day before an annual Hindu festival, killing 62 shoppers and leaving hundreds injured.
2006
March: Blasts in a train station and a temple in Varanasi, Hinduism’s holiest city, leave 20 people dead, mostly devotees.
July: A series of seven high-powered blasts on suburban trains in India’s business capital Mumbai kill 187 commuters and leave 800 injured. The attacks prompt India to freeze peace talks with Pakistan.
September: Thirty-eight people killed and more than 100 injured in three nearly simultaneous blasts, including one in a mosque, in the town of Malegaon in Maharashtra state.
2007
February: Attackers fire-bomb the Pakistan-bound Friendship Express passenger train, killing 66 passengers, mostly Pakistanis.
May: Eleven killed, 15 injured in blast at 17th century Mecca mosque in Hyderabad. Five more die when police fire at Muslim protesters.
August: At least 40 people killed and more than 50 others injured as two bombs rock a crowded outdoor auditorium and a popular eatery in the southern city of Hyderabad.
October: Two die in a low-intensity explosion in the Ajmer Sharif shrine during Ramadan in the northern town of Ajmer. The Islamic shrine is equally popular among Hindus and Muslims of India and Pakistan.
November: At least 13 people die in bombings outside court buildings in three cities in the north state of Uttar Pradesh.
2008
May: Eight serial blasts tear through the northern Indian tourist city of Jaipur, killing 65 and injuring 150. A group calling itself the “Indian Mujahideen” claims responsibility.
July 26: Eight bombs go off in the high-tech southern Indian city of Bangalore, leaving one dead and seven wounded. Indian Mujahideen claims to have struck again.
July 27: A string of 16 or more bombs hit the communally-tense western city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, killing 45 and injuring over 160. Indian Mujahideen sent a claim before the blasts.
September 13: A series of bomb blasts rock New Delhi, killing 22 and injuring 98 in busy, upmarket shopping areas of the Indian capital. Indian Mujahideen again claims responsibility.
October 30: A dozen bomb blasts rip through Guwahati, the main city of north-eastern Assam state, killing at least 71 people and injuring more than 300.
November 26-29: Ten gunmen, armed with explosive devices, launch a coordinated attack on various high-profile targets in Mumbai, killing 166 people. India blames the attack on Pakistan-based militants and suspends peace talks with Islamabad – AFP