Date:09/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/09/stories/2006010904840400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Conference in Puri's memory

B.S. Ramesh

The international meet will be organised by ORSI in Delhi

BANGALORE: The Operations Research Society of India (ORSI) will organise an international conference in Delhi in memory of M.C. Puri, retired professor of the Indian Institute of Technology, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Bangalore on December 28.

Prof. Puri had come from Delhi to attend a conference on infrastructure organised by the ORSI at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.). He died and many persons were injured when a terrorist opened fire soon after the conference ended.

N. Nagaraja Rao, secretary of ORSI's Bangalore chapter, told The Hindu that the society has decided to dedicate its next seminar in Delhi to Prof. Puri. An eyewitness to the shooting incident, Mr. Rao said it was his car, a Lancer, that had been sprayed with bullets by the terrorist. He had parked the car near the J.N. Auditorium a few minutes before the incident.

Mr. Rao served the IISc. for 40 years before moving on to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Sciences, where he was Registrar.

Recalling the night of the shooting, Mr. Rao, in his first interview to the media, said it was 7.02 p.m., and he had parked his car near the auditorium and was on his way to the Management Seminar Complex when he heard a lot of noise. Even as he was walking towards the complex, he saw a man throwing some things (which he later realised were grenades) at a group of scientists who were coming out of the auditorium.

At 7.10 p.m., Sonia, a participant and professor from Delhi, rushed towards him saying that a terrorist was firing on people.

She had an injury near an eye and he put her in an ambulance. When he ran towards the gathering he found the group in a daze; many were injured.

In hindsight, Mr. Rao shudders to think of the consequences if the terrorist had entered the auditorium and opened fire or lobbed the grenades when the conference was in progress. Commending the police for their prompt response, he says they and the Hoysala patrol vehicle arrived within minutes.