Terror raised its ugly head in New Delhi on Wednesday and this time the killers chose the house of justice as a counterpoint to their bloody campaign. The attack comes at a time when the echo of the last series of blasts in Mumbai has not yet died away. It also comes at a time when the implementation of the ‘high alert’ that has been in position since those days and through the Independence Day celebrations in the middle of August is still in force. To the best of one’s knowledge the alert had not been reduced in its coding. Consequently, the call to go back to such an alert in the aftermath of the Wednesday morning massacre is mere rhetoric.

The cruel fact is that the attention of the capital’s security forces was diverted from their task to handling the fallout of the populist Anna Hazare movement against corruption. While there is no direct nexus, the huge following he got and the effort and time and manpower exhausted in protecting and arranging a peaceful demonstration made Delhi vulnerable to an attack. At no time is any city in the world immune from attack…history in recent years has shown us that. Ergo, when you are high on the list as are Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi, then the high alert demands a state of readiness at all times.

Although the Anna movement was benign in terms of violence the capital took its eye off the ball. The government was on the backfoot getting mauled by media’s decision to create a 21st century Gandhi. The Opposition was baying for blood. The people were having an Indian spring. The police forces were looking away from their usual suspects and the vulnerability increased exponentially because the anti-corruption movement went on for days and weeks, leaving a hug hole in the security system…big enough for terrorists to smuggle themselves and their explosives into Delhi with what must have been relative ease.  

At times like this it becomes necessary to ensure that for the future scenarios the gathering of intelligence and the sharing of data with the world at large as well as never being diluted in its vigilance is not compromised by other issues, however centrestage they are.  

There is no point in condemning the dastardly acts when the government softened its defences.

There might be those who say the last three weeks of the Anna explosion is mutually exclusive from a terrorist attack. They may be right but for many, there will be a niggling doubt that the system spread itself too thinly and left Delhi wide open. Who will take the blame?

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Death toll in Delhi High Court blast rises to twelve 

The death toll in Wednesday's blast outside the Delhi High Court today rose to 12 with one of the victims succumbing to injuries at a hospital here.

A man injured in the blast breathed his last at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital this morning, police sources said.

The man, who was in his mid-30s, is yet to be identified.

A high intensity briefcase bomb ripped through the crowded reception area in the Delhi High Court yesterday.

75 people were injured in the blast that took place between Gate No.4 and 5 when around 200 visitors, mostly litigants, were waiting in queue to get passes to enter the premises. Several lawyers were also present at that time.

Delhi Police has released sketches of two people suspected of planting the bomb in a suitcase outside the court, just two km away from Parliament House.

The sketches of a 26-year-old and a 50-year-old man were prepared following the description provided by some eye- witnesses who claimed that they have seen a person in white shirt with a briefcase standing in the queue for entry passes.

The probe into the blast was handed over by Government to the National Investigation Agency(NIA) whose Chief S C Sinha said a 20-member team headed by a DIG has been formed.

Home Minister P Chidambaram said the blast was of "high intensity" and called it a "terrorist attack".

Delhi blast: Allahabad HC lawyers abstain from judicial work

Allahabad, Sep 7 (PTI)

Terming the blast at Delhi High Court as "an attack on judiciary itself", advocates of the Allahabad High Court today abstained from judicial work as a mark of protest.

 As the news of the blast reached here, an emergency meeting of the High Court Bar Association was called where the lawyers, led by the association's senior vice-president Daya Shankar Mishra and secretary Anil Tiwari, passed a resolution.

"We condemn the Delhi blast, which is an attack on judiciary itself," the resolution said.

It also extended condolences to the families who lost their beloved ones in the blast.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued here, former Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh and ex-Chairman of the UP Minorities Commission S M A Kazmi said "this incident should not be used as an opportunity to get political mileage".

Terming the blast as "an act of cowardice", Kazmi emphasised upon removing "infirmities in security measures" and demanded "those responsible for the laxity should be brought to book".