Blast in Bengaluru: Security agencies fail again and a mother pays with her life

City was on high alert after Biswas's arrest, yet the tragedy could not be averted

GN Bureau | December 29, 2014




The Sunday night blast in Bengaluru has taken toll of an innocent mother of two young children. Bhawani Bala, 37, a resident of Chennai, was visiting relatives along with her two children, a 15-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter. She was hit by the shrapnel from the bomb planted outside a popular restaurant in the heart of Bengaluru.

The tragedy and the terror attack raise various questions on the brave statements of the politicians, security agencies and the actual ground situation.

The tech city was supposed to be on high alert after the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas this month for running a pro-Islamic State Twitter account. The arrest had triggered spate of online threats of retaliation being sent to the investigators in-charge of the case.

Bengaluru is also on alert due to the festive season. The Church Street, where the blast took place, is a hub of youngsters out for a drink or shopping. On the Dec 31 night the area turns into a revelers paradise.

"Essentially, it was aimed at causing panic and fear," Bengaluru police commissioner MN Reddi told reporters as investigators looked for clues at the blast site.

But, who wants to cause panic, and what kind of fear? Is it an act or terror or mischief by some other elements? Most importantly, how is that this bomber indulged in this heinous act when the city is on high alert?

This was echoed by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. "Police were on high alert. In spite of this, it has happened," the chief minister said on Sunday after visiting the site of the blast.

Commissioner Reddi said nobody had yet claimed responsibility for the blast. The police said the improvised explosive device had been placed between two flower-pots near the restaurant. The bomb was wrapped in a Telugu newspaper and its blast left an eight-inch wide crater at the spot.

It was a pipe bomb meant for a low-intensity but high-impact blast as it was packed with iron nails.

Meanwhile, local media reports said that the Chennai woman and her children were in Bengaluru for the holiday season. They had been to Mysore two days ago, and on Sunday she was going to the restaurant with her relatives for a dinner on Sunday night. Bhawani was return to Chennai on Sunday but had to stay back as she could not procure train tickets.

Comments

 

Other News

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter