Two serial blasts with the gap of just two minutes at the premises of Civil Court and Collectorate of Varanasi on November 23 claimed 12 lives and more than a dozen seriously injured. Similar other blasts in Lucknow and Faizabad courts premises also claimed the lives of three people and injured several. The victims in Varanasi included two advocates and ten other people who were in the court to pursue their cases in the court. The injured persons were admitted in Sir Sunderlal Hospital of BHU, Singh Medical and Research Centre and Heritage Hospital. Just after receiving the information of the blasts, the local Sangh swayamsevaks reached the spot and started immediate relief to the victims along with the local officials.
Advocate Shri Vinod Kumar, Shri Ramlal, Shri Chandrashekhar, Shri Ramnarayan, Shri Vipin Kumar, Shri Subhash, Shri Santosh Pathak, Shri Rajeshwar, Shri Rakesh Kumar, Shri Satyendra, Shri Nagendra, Shri Prashant, Shri Sanjay, Shri Vishal Tripathi and Vishwa Samvad Kendra Pramukh Shri Amarnath were among the prominent workers engaged in the service of the victims. Kashi Prant Pracharak Shri Shivnarayan, Vibhag Pracharak Shri Abhayji and Zila Pracharak Shri Akhand Pratap were also there to monitor the relief work.
When the doctors stressed the need for blood for the seriously injured victims, about 30 swayamsevaks donated blood at Sir Sunderlal Hospital of BHU, Shivprasad Gupt Hospital (Kabir Chaura), Singh Medical and Research Centre and Heritage Hospital.
The Hindu organisations have strongly condemned the blasts and termed them as terrorist acts. Prant organising secretary of VHP Shri Manoj Shrivastava while condemning the blasts in Kashi, Faizabad and Lucknow termed them as the result of terrorist conspiracy. Shri Shukdev Tripathi, Kashi Mahanagar Dakshin Sanghachalak, said the blasts were the failure of the intelligence agencies. Prof. Omprakash Singh of Mahatma Gandhi Patrakarita Sansthan, said the blasts were the evidence that even the holy city Kashi of Uttar Pradesh is not safe. ?Just one year back dozens of people were killed in similar blasts at Railway Station and the Sankatmochan Mandir of Varanasi. Even after those incidents, the security arrangements are inadequate in the city. The SSP office is just one km away from the court where the blasts exploded,? he said.
Prof. Deenbandhu Pandey, chairman of Kashi Hindu University Malaviya Mission, said there were reports of possible terrorists attack in Kashi, but the administration was not alert. Crores of rupees are being wasted in the name of security. Despite that the courts were targeted by the terrorists. He said policies of the Central Government have boosted the moral of terrorists and the bombs in Kashi have been exploded to insult the Hindus. He said the Hindus must combat it by all democratic means. Social activist Dr Hansnarayan Singh Rahi said the blasts were the result of appeasement policies of the Central Government. He said the lack of strong will power in leaders of the country is the reason of growth in such incidents. Shri Kameshwar Upadhyaya, convener of Akhil Bharatiya Vidwat Parishad and Mayor of Kashi Shri Kaushlendra Pratap Singh also condemned the blasts. By Loknath, Varanasi
