Explosion near Ram temple in Madurai days before Advani visit

Madurai, May 1: A low intensity crude bomb exploded near a Ram temple in Madurai in the wee hours of Tuesday. The bomb was hidden inside a box attached to a cycle that was parked near the gate of the temple at Anna Nagar in the temple city. Since the explosion occurred around 3 am, no one were injured.

``It was a very low intensity bomb made out of chemicals used in fire crackers. The culprits had used two batteries meant for torch lights and a timer to ignite the bomb,'' said Anna Nagar Assistant commissioner S Velladurai. The blast spread scare among the residents in the locality as they woke up to the noise of the explosion. The police, bomb detection and disposal squad and the forensic experts rushed to the spot and have collected the exploded pieces of the bomb. Police said the cycle was parked near the gate for the past three days. ``The bomb was not intended to cause any damage. The intention of the culprits seems to be to threaten and create panic,'' Velladurai said.

The bomb blast comes in the wake of a two day BJP conference scheduled for May 11 and 12 when key leaders, including L K Advani, are expected to visit Madurai. During the last visit of Advani to Madurai, the police found a powerful pipe bomb planted under a low level bridge at Thirumangalam over which Advani was to pass through as part of his Jan Chetna Yatra. The case is being probed by SIT and the key accused Fakrudeen from Nelpettai is still on the run.

In fact the city has had close brushes with crude bombs several times in the past. Last year, crude bombs were detected on two occasions before they could explode - once in a crowded state-owned bus and another time when a bomb planted inside a dust bin near Mattuthavani bus stand exploded.