Delhi blast sparks nationwide protest against UPA govt

Stung by the blast in New Delhi that killed 12 people and injured 76 others, Indians from all walks of life on Thursday criticised the UPA government at the Centre for its perceived hesitancy in tackling militancy and for being insensitive towards the victims of extremist violence.

A high intensity briefcase bomb ripped through the crowded reception area outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.

The blast, which was the deadliest attack in India in almost two months, prompted the government to put several major cities on high alert and facilitate treatment for the victims.

However, aggrieved kith and kin of the victims at a hospital in New Delhi unleashed a wave of anger directed at the government, accusing it of being cold towards their plight.

Shouting slogans, the friends and families of those killed or injured in the incident, voiced their ire at the lack of facilities and organisation at the medical institutions, stressing that hospital authorities were treating them 'like animals'.

In a tone that betrayed a sense of anger and frustration, scores of anxious relatives alleged that there was a state of chaos at the hospitals, with the police and medical authorities not taking steps to address their concerns.

"The main problem that we are facing is that the people who have been injured or those who have been killed have been placed in rooms and wards like animals. Post-mortem on bodies is not being conducted. Neither the doctors nor the police are cooperating with us. Even the health minister is not helping us," said Vinod Kumar, a relative of one of the blast victims.

A similar sentiment was echoed in Andhra Pradesh's Hyderabad city, where a group of lawyers held a highly charged demonstration outside the metropolitan court to demand justice for the blast victims.

Holding posters and placards, hundreds of slogan-shouting lawyers condemned the blast and urged lawmakers to formulate tougher laws against extremism.

Lashing out at the Central Government for failing to curb militancy, the protesting lawyers demanded the immediate resignation of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram over the incident.

"We are protesting here to appeal to the government to immediately announce at least Rs20 lakh as ex-gratia compensation to the families of those killed in the New Delhi blast. The government must also provide employment to one member of every bereaved family," said Wahid Ahmed, a protesting advocate.

"We also demand the immediate resignation of Home Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram. The government has clearly failed to act on extremism," he added.

Similar protests over the blast were also witnessed in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi town.

Interestingly, Varanasi, considered one of the holiest cities in Hindu mythology, has been the target of many militant attacks in the past, the most recent one being a blast on the banks of the River Ganges, which killed one girl and injured 37 others.

Police have so far detained three people for questioning, including the owner of an internet cafe in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir over an email allegedly claiming responsibility for a deadly bombing of the Delhi High Court.

The authorities said they are investigating a claim of responsibility allegedly made by the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI) militant group -- an al Qaeda affiliate with bases in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Ilyas Kashmiri, who US authorities believe was recently killed in Pakistan, was the head of the group and senior al Qaeda member.

Delhi Police also released sketches of two suspects with the hopes of the public reciprocating to nab them at the earliest.

In an e-mail to India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), the South Asian militant group, of HuJI called on India to repeal the death sentence of a man convicted for his role in an attack on the Indian Parliament House in 2001 and warned it would otherwise target major courts in the country.

Earlier in May, a low-intensity blast outside the same High Court in Delhi triggered panic but injured no one.