The Times of India, April 18, 1999
Panipat Distt emerging as new base for terrorist activities
Vinay Tewari
NEW DELHI: Areas in and around the Panipat district of Haryana could be fast emerging as the latest base for saboteurs, with police finding several links between terrorist incidents in the Capital and the district, located a little over 100 kilometres from here. Police sources said the city has been an important common factor in several subversive acts in the Capital and said they feared the Pakistani intelligence agencies' backed terrorist groups may be increasingly using this town for planning their operations. Sources said the subversives could have possibly shifted their operations to this region after facing pressure from the local police in the Pilkhuwa area of Ghaziabad where militants owing allegiance to the Pakistani intelligence backed Lashkar-e-toiba, had set up base for carrying out over 27 blasts in the Capital throughout 1997 and part of 1998. The Delhi police, too, had increased their operation against the outfit's sympathisers, forcing them to shift base. Police officials give an instance of a powerful bomb explosion inside a Haryana Roadways bus parked at the Kashmere Gate Inter State Bus Terminus on July 26 last year. The bus, officials said, originated from the Safedo town of Panipat district. ``Friday night's explosion also took place inside a train which shuttles between the Capital and Panipat. A further confirmation of a link is provided in the nature of the two blasts, which are somewhat similar,'' an official said. In both the ISBT blast and the one which took place at the Holambi Kalan railway station on Friday, RDX was used by the saboteurs. Also, the timing of the two blasts possibly went awry and did not create the intended maximum damage. Besides, police also did not find the use of a timer in both blasts. Sources said on April 15 this year, the Haryana police had defused a high intensity RDX bomb at the busy Lal Batti crossing in Sonepat. Earlier, Haryana police had also recovered another RDX bomb under a bridge in the Shahbad Markanda area of Kurukshetra. Also, high intensity explosives were also found near the Ghaggar river in Shambhu area of Patiala, besides a blast which took place in Amritsar, in Punjab, all of whom could be linked, police sources said. Crime branch officials also said the Panipat, Ambala and Kaithal belt appear to be the latest places which these militants are using as their base. ``In fact, we are working in close coordination with the Sonepat police specially in sharing intelligence and sharing information on their movements,'' a senior crime branch official said.
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