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Attacks planned on Tibetan Buddhists in India
By Gaurav Bisht, Hindustan Times
"Alarmed by revelations of Indian Mujahedeen founder Yasin Bhatkal, the Himachal Police has written to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) seeking details of interrogation records regarding suspected threat to Tibetan spiritual leaders Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhist settlements.
The state police move came following reports that Dharamsala, the exile home of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, was on the radar of Bhatkal.
The intelligence agencies suspected that Indian Mujahedeen group’s operations head Yasin Bhatkal had planned to recce Dharamsala after serial blast that rocked Buddhist pilgrim’s site in Gaya in July this year. There are reports that Bhatkal had sent two of his close aides to Dharamsala for recce as it was the potential target of the Indian Mujahedeen to take revenge against Buddhists for committing atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
“There are varied and unconfirmed reports about Bhatkal’s plan to visit Dharamsala. We have written to NIA seeking more details about Bhatkal’s plans,” deputy inspector general of police, intelligence and security, Abhishekh Trivedi told the Hindustan Times.
“So far, we don’t have any specific input about Bhatkal’s plans to visit Dharamsala,” he added.
It was in July last week after the blasts in Bodh Gaya that the NIA had alerted the Himachal Pradesh police about possible attacks on Buddhist population and monasteries across the state by the Islamic militant group Indian Mujahedeen...." Full article
Meanwhile, security at Bodh Gaya is stepped up following Jihadist bomb blasts
From The Press Trust of India
"Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Friday, assured Buddhist leaders that strict security measures have been taken to prevent a repeat of the July serial blasts at Bodh Gaya. "The serial bomb blasts in the holy shrine and in Bodh Gaya on July 7 left us aghast. Nobody had ever imagined that somebody will attack a place known for giving a message of peace to the world," Kumar told a congregation of over 200 Buddhists from 39 countries at the Budha Smriti Park here. "That was a warning. We took the incident very seriously and have taken security measures so that such things do not happen in future," Kumar said at the conclave being attended by Buddhists from US, Russia, Australia, UK, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan and Germany.
Read more
...and Jihadist Mullahs incite their followers to destroy the ancient Buddhist heritage of Pakistan
From the Express Tribune by Fazal Khaliq
"...Dr Shah Nazar Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s director of archaeology,
says locals are primarily to blame for the decay. Sadly, apart from the
defacing, some locals even throw garbage on the art.
“It is high time to educate people about the historical and cultural
importance, so that locals can also take part in the preservation
efforts,” says Dr Khan. “The statues should be removed and shifted to a
museum, if possible, and all these sites fully documented.”
Faizur Rehman, curator in the Swat museum, believes that more effort
than just maintenance. “The government should purchase all the lands of
the rock carvings and hire 24-hour guards.” Rehman states firmly. “This
is the only way to protect and preserve the heritage.” Full article
See No future for Buddhism in an Islamized World
Terrorists have bombed Bodh Gaya, the sacred site where Buddha achieved enlightenment.
GAYA: Terror struck the temple town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar, as nine serial explosions rocked the Mahabodhi Temple complex on Sunday morning.
Two tourists, including a monk from Myanmar, have been injured in the blasts. The injured are being treated at the Anugrah Narain Magadh Medical College hospital.
Union home secretary Anil Goswami confirmed that the Bodh Gaya blasts were a terror attack.
Bihar Police suspect the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the temple blasts.
According to Gaya Police, the blasts took place in quick succession between 5.30am and 6am in the temple complex and near the Mahabodhi tree. One blast was reported from a bus stand.
One of the blasts took place just under the enlightenment tree causing partial damage to the Buddha footprints in the shrine premises.
Four blasts took place inside the shrine premises, while another three blasts took place in the Tregar monastery premises. The Tregar monastery belongs to the Karmapa, the second most important spiritual leader.
One blast each took place at the great Buddha statue and a bus parked on the Sujata bypass.
Arvind Singh, a member of Mahabodhi Temple Management Commitee said two other bombs, one near the 80 feet statue and one at bus stand have been defused.
Zonal IG Sushil Khopade confirmed eight blasts.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar reached Bodh Gaya to take stock of the situation. He took a round of the Mahabodhi Temple complex and held a meeting with the officials.
BJP activists led by former minister Prem Kumar greeted Nitish Kumar with 'go back' slogans outside the temple main gate.
JD(U) workers present there raised pro-Nitish slogans and countered the protesting BJP workers.
Cops have sealed the entry routes to the shrine. A NIA team is expected to arrive shortly for the probe.
"A team of NIA officers is coming to Bodh Gaya from Kolkata," DIG special branch Parasnath said.
The DIG said, "The sanctum sanctorum of the Mahabodhi Temple is intact. The temple premises have been sanitised."
The secretary of the Bodh Gaya committee Dorji said, "There were four blasts inside the temple premises. Fortunately, there was no damage to the Bodhi Tree or the main temple structure."
"In the first blast which took place near the Bodhi tree, a table was blown up because of which two persons were injured. The second blast, I think, was inside the enclosure where books were kept. The furniture was damaged but there was no damage to the monuments or statues," he said.
Asked about the nature of explosives used, S K Bharadwaj, ADG (Law and Order) said they were low intensity time bombs.
He said, "We got information about six-seven months back that there may be a terror attack on the Mahabodhi temple. After that we had beefed up secuirty and deployed extra forces".
Bodh Gaya Buddhist temple, around 10 km from Gaya and 100 km from capital Patna, is world famous. Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment here under the Mahabodhi tree in the temple premises.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama makes frequent trips to Bodh Gaya and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited it six months back. A total of 52 countries have established their monasteries here. http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/bodh-gaya-serial-blasts-im-militants-had-told-delhi-police-abou-24714.html
Update
"An Indian Mujahideen militant Syed Maqbool had told Delhi Police Special cell way back in October last year that they planned to target the Mahabodhi temple and other major Buddhist shrines. Syed Maqbool belongs to Maharashtra's Nanded district and is a close associate of underground IM leadr Yasin Bhatkal.
Maqbool had told Delhi Police that Bhatkal had a plan to target Buddhist shrines in India to extract revenge for the killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Delhi Police special cell had then given detailed info about the Bodh Gaya plan to Home Ministry, which in turn, had passed it on to Bihar police.
A team from Gaya police had then visited Delhi and discussed about this info. The district magistrate of Gaya, who is the president of Bodh Gaya temple management committee, had then promised to instal cctv cameras at the shrine and in neighbouring localities.
Home Ministry today asked Bihar police why no concrete action to safeguard the major Buddhist shrine was not taken despite issuing three alerts within a month. http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/bodh-gaya-serial-blasts-im-militants-had-told-delhi-police-abou-24714.html
See No future for Buddhism in an Islamized World
