Surat’s unsolved bomb mystery

The series of live bombs discovered in Surat are more baffling than terrifying. Nobody can deny that it is most likely an act of terror, but the manner in which the bombs have been discovered evokes curiosity more than concern. A total of 28 bombs have been found so far, including two cars full of explosives; but none of them exploded. Many of these bombs have been found in strange locations; some hanging from a tree while others hidden behind hoardings. It is not clear why terrorists would choose these sites to plant these bombs, since midair explosions would not cause much damage to life or property.

Intriguingly, many of these bombs have been discovered on the information of a local activist of a political organisation. All the bombs discovered look similar and were even packaged in one style. Even the bomb disposal squads seemed to have stopped taking these bombs seriously; squad members were seen on television diffusing some of these bombs without wearing safety jackets. In any case, all bombs were defused amidst a public spectacle with thousands thronging to witness the act. There are far too many loose ends in the Surat bombs mystery and the Gujarat government has failed to come up with any logical explanation so far. In my view, the central government should immediately intervene and hand over this case to the CBI to probe.

Fly past

New Delhi’s Safdarjung airport is spread over a huge expanse of land, and located right in the centre of the city. Till about two decades back, private aircrafts used to fly to and from the airport. The home ministry later ordered a shutdown of civilian operations at the airport citing a perceived security threat to the prime minister’s residence that is located close to the airport. Only Air Force helicopters are allowed to fly out of Safdarjung today.

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