Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: July 28, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/341179.html
Investigations into the blast in an empty
Hubli courtroom in May this year could have been a deterrent to the recent
serial blasts in Bangalore, feel experts. "Terrorism and blast-related
cases need sustained investigations. Even if results are not forthcoming,
the constant process of inquiry helps in many ways. But after the Hubli blasts,
there has been a lull in Karnataka," said a senior Karnataka police officer
involved with terrorism probes in the past.
"Karnataka needs a dedicated anti-terrorism
cell like Mumbai or Delhi that can investigate cases. Findings into a terror
strike can prove to be a deterrent to attacks," the officer said.
While the police had partially cracked the
case where a retired IIT Delhi professor fell victim to a terror attack on
the Indian Institute of Science in December 2005, the more recent Hubli blast
slipped under the radar of a police force caught up with the election process.
On May 10, a low-intensity blast rocked an
empty courtroom badly damaging it. Two days later the court was scheduled
to hear a case against 12 terror suspects, including former SIMI activist
Safdar Nagori, who was arrested from Indore on March 23.
