Adding a new twist to the April 12 suicide attack on Indian road construction workers in Afghanistan, an official of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), who reached Varanasi today with the body of one of his two colleagues killed in the attack, claimed that one of the two bombers had been working with the BRO for the last few months.

BRO administrative superintendent Vikram Singh, who accompanied the body of M P Singh, said: “I cannot give you exact details as I am posted in New Delhi. But as per information from our officials in Afghanistan, one of the suicide bombers had been working with us for the last few months. He had mingled well with our personnel in Afghanistan and carried out the suicide attack on Saturday.”

M P Singh and C Govindaswamy were killed and five others were wounded when bombers targeted BRO personnel constructing the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram road in the Nimroz province.

Vikram Singh’s claim about the bomber was seconded by M P Singh’s brother-in-law Pradip Singh who claimed that Ram Milan, BRO Dy GM in Kabul, had told him on phone that one of the suicide bombers, probably named Irfan, had been working with their personnel as a driver/worker for the last few months.

Vikram Singh, however, was non-committal on whether he thought the attack was a security lapse. “The question of security lapse can only be answered by my senior officials, especially those in Afghanistan. But the ITBP (whose personnel are guarding the BRO workforce) cannot be blamed for the attack. It is the duty of the Afghan civil police to ensure no terror operative sneaks into our workforce in the name of helping the BRO’s reconstruction effort locally,” he said.

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