Post Gaya blasts, Bihar govt approves formation of ATS

Alarmed over serial bomb blasts in Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple, the Bihar government has decided on Tuesday to form an Anti-Terrorism Squad on the lines of the Mumbai ATS, an official said.Cabinet Secretary Brajesh Mehrotra told mediapersons that state cabinet has cleared the appointment of 344 posts for the ATS.

A day after serial blasts in the temple, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that state the government was mulling over a proposal to form an ATS to combat heightened security challenges in the state.

Meanwhile, five people including a woman were detained on Tuesday in Patna and Gaya and interrogated by the national Investigation Agency in connection with the serial bomb explosions at the temple, police officials said.

Police officials said four people, suspected to be involved in the blasts in Bodh Gaya, were detained in Patna and one man was detained from Sonbarsha village under Barachatti in Gaya.

The four detained in Patna were identified as Gunjan Patel, Hasan Malik, Anand Prakash and Priyanka. Another suspect, Dashrath Yadav was detained from the village in Gaya

“Four of those detained stayed at the Tathagat International Hotel in Bodh Gaya on Saturday night and they visited the temple premises in the wee hours on Sunday and checked out from the hotel within an hour after the blasts,” a police official said.

According to police officials, the suspects were taken to an undisclosed place for interrogation by a NIA team. They were among the six people spotted in the footage and suspected to be involved in the Sunday bombings in which two monks were injured, he said.