Varanasi Blast : The facts and truth

Last tuesday 7/12, 2010, Sheetala ghat near Dasashwemadh ghat was rocked by an explosion that was heard as far as 5 kms from the blast site..The blast occured at 6: 30 PM when the famous Ganga aarti was going on..the time when at least 1000 devotees and tourist flock there to watch the ceremony. The bomb was hidden in a gap between the stairs..and the blast killed a 2 year old girl and  made another one parentless. The police is saying the bomb was of medium intensity because they were on strict vigil due to recent alerts...though it is questionable how the medium intensity IED was planted there...and another one found in dustbin...

The prelimininary report says the mastermind was Imtiyaz Bhatkal , planned in Pakistan, executed via Dubai via Nepal in Varanasi by Sleeper cells...Indian Mujahiddin claimed responsibility via a mail using unsecured wifi connection in Mumbai...

Now I know many of you have questions about the IEDs and Sleeper cells ...

IED: Improvised explosive device... 

They are not ready made explosives..rather they are made from local ingredients with timer or mobile activated devices... they are kind of makeshift bomb..Many of you know Ammonium nitrate is being used as fertilizers...so its availability is cheap.. Each of you know burning needs oxygen and fuel and need ignition... Oxygen is provided by Ammonium nitrate..., Fuel.. is either diesel or kerosene which is mixed with the oxidizer for rapid burning..and mobile phone or alarm clock acts as the ignition device... they are sometime kept in pressure cookers because more you build the pressure, more is aggressiveness of the bomb...and they are the cheapest pressure device as wells as there steel body when exploded acts as shrapnel or they are packed with to cause maximum injury ..and they cause the most harm....I am not going to give you any details on how to make the IED...but that is common know how and details can be found just by google search... so see you don't have to be a chemist or explosive guy to know that....

Sleeper Cells: 

This is a fancy term used by intelligence guys.... and nowadays by news agencies... Sleeper cells are nothing but locals recruited by the terrorist organization..either by favors given,threats, and/or religious motivation...Since most of the time terrorists are on watchlist...so they come with money.. help local people ..like someone need money for a job or paying back loan for the daughter's marriage..o by religious motivation ...and they are in debt after that.. they don't tell them what they are being recruited for and are made scapegoats for the operation and are activated just moments ago with all the plans and the money required. ready at their disposal. So these terrorist pay a meager amount to locals and they carry out the crime and the conspirators reap up the profit and funding...

Reki: 

 It is common term for reconnaissance or recon... it means survey of the area before executing any plan... the conspirators often survey the area to make the plan.. or where to plant bomb ..where is the entry points,what should be the exit strategy..what are the security of the area.. and lay out of the area...

Now see where the Varanasi is vulnerable...

1) Since it is big market.. Ammonium nitrate, diesel and mobiles are easily available..so making the bomb is easy...

2) As it is a big market.. the rush makes the people to hide in plain sight

3) The place is full of religious Muslims who live there in peace but it is hard to identify any terrorists doing the recon as they look like Indian and even if have muslim attire can be mistaken as locals.. and it is tourist place, so camera is not a matter of suspicion here...

4)  The rush here makes the entry and exits easy as there are dozens of entry points and exit points.. whcih can't be guarded all the time....

5) Place is full of religious guys and poor guys.. so recruitment of sleeper cells is not hard...

6) The vehicles are parked on roads as there is lack of parking space and these are not often checked and suspected by anybody...

7) And you know the efficiency of Indian police....and Indian intelligence...they took hours to trace a single IP address.

On 26/11 there was a question asked by Times now on their facebook page about the assesment of security scenario.. and I told them there how Varanasi can be a soft target for the extremists and lack of secuirty there.. but they paid no hid and there is no place where I could drop my suggestions or warnings to Indian inteliigence agencies...the cameras are not working.. the metal door frame installed are broken ...and the roads are filled with street side vendors.. so rush is bound to happen and the danger is immenent...

Now this attack, killed a kid and injured about 20 with 9 foreigners ...and governments are busy in blaming state and center..and there is a clean up going on... but I still see Varanasi is a soft target and another strike is coming.. until people become conscious and government awakens from their sleep...and start working in making the city more secured so that everyone can breath free...

Stay safe...

Regards,

Sourish...

PS: No question will be entertained about how to make a bomb or IED.. I simple don't know and don't wanna know too and the facts shared here are not classified...