That the Ajmer Sharif dargah was a militant target became clear way back in 2002-03 when two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants were arrested on the Rajasthan border with detailed maps of the dargah as they tried to cross over to Pakistan.

During interrogation, the militants confessed that their Lashkar handlers had sent them on a reconnaissance mission after selecting targets which included Hyderabad and Delhi. This prompted the internal security establishment to recommend that CCTV cameras be installed within the dargah premises. But till date, these cameras have not been installed. The only time CCTVs are installed is during the annual Urs.

Early findings suggest that the blast at the dargah was caused by an improvised explosive device kept in a green rexine bag beneath a tree. The explosive appeared to have been packed in a rifled (grooved) pipe with iron scrapings as shrapnel. Incidentally, a pipe bomb was also used in the Jama Masjid attack in Delhi last year in which 14 persons were injured.

The Ajmer dargah also figured in a list of sensitive religious places facing threats from militants. The list was drawn after security agencies carried out a survey following the attack on the Akshardham temple in Gujarat in 2002.

Concern was expressed about security at the Ajmer shrine during another review carried out after the Mumbai blasts last year, official sources said.

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