The Hindu Business Line : Terrorists storm Gujarat temple, kill 23

IN an indiscriminate shoot-out at the prestigious Akshardham temple belonging to the affluent Swaminarayan sect here, 23 people were reportedly killed and 70 injured. The siege that began at around 4.30 p.m. caught the entire security system napping and it reportedly took another 30-40 minutes before police forces reached the spot. Unconfirmed reports indicated that another 80-90 visitors were still caught inside the temple complex. Among the dead were 13 men, six women and four children.

There are reports that there were four AK-47 wielding terrorists still holed up inside Akshardham as paramilitary forces including commandos from BSF and the CRPF reached the spot by 7 p.m. The entire temple complex has been cordoned off and with more anti-terrorist squads scheduled to arrive later in the night, it appears that the sordid drama would continue well into the night.

Late tonight, at least two terrorists were still perched atop the temple and firing indiscriminately on devotees trying to escape from the 23-acre complex situated in the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani's parliamentary constituency.

As the commando operation to flush out the terrorists continued, a huge explosion was heard around 8.20 p.m. on the right side of the temple, an apparent grenade attack by the militants.

Mr Advani, who flew to Gandhinagar along with about 50 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos, said a temple priest speaking from within the besieged complex told him that there were two terrorists on the roof of the temple. Some other reports suggested the number could be three or four.

Heart-rending scenes unfolded in the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, ill equipped to handle a catastrophe of this scale, with hundreds of anxious relatives thronging the hospital corridors.

There were scores of volunteers running helter-skelter inside the hospital compound shouting for various blood groups as paucity of blood became the single most important issue for the handful of doctors fighting for the lives of many of the seriously injured.

Just as frightening was the fear of retaliatory attacks that could get unleashed in the coming days along the lines of what happened after the Godhra tragedy as the Swaminarayan sect is among the most popular in the State. While no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the strike, some leaders of the Muslim community were quick to make public their total condemnation of the gruesome killing of innocent people in the temple complex.

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