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| September 24, 2005 | Saturday | Sha'aban 19, 1426 |
Blasts’ toll rises to seven
LAHORE, Sept 23: The death toll in the Thursday’s twin bombings rose to seven after a victim died here on Friday. Police, in the meantime, picked up around two dozen suspects for questioning. A high-alert was ordered in the province by IGP Ziaul Hasan, who stated in an official order to all police heads that “it seems the terrorists have planned to target public places so that a maximum number of casualties are caused and a sense of insecurity is created.”
Old Anarkali resident Shamsuddin, 47, a prize bond dealer, succumbed to his injuries in the Services Hospital. He together with his son Faisal had visited a bank shortly before they were caught in the Ichhra blast and suffered injuries.
The police have yet to make any breakthrough, though they have detained two dozen people.
The city police chief, DIG Tariq Saleem, did not agree with the general perception that there had not been any breakthrough so far. “We have got leads. We have made a breakthrough. That is what I can tell you (safely) at the moment,” he told Dawn by phone.
He said he was sanguine that his men would come up with a positive result soon.
Two blasts took place outside the Minar-i-Pakistan park and in the crowded Ichhra market on Thursday, claiming six lives besides leaving 27 others injured.
A source among the police teams working on the bombings said two dozen suspects had been picked up in raids conducted in the city second-class hotels, inns and the villages bordering India.
“I can’t say any of these suspects has anything to do with the two blasts, but what I can say right now is that these people can give us leads.”
Meanwhile, of the injured people admitted to various city hospitals, at least six are in critical condition, a doctor at the Services Hospital said.
The IGP in his order directed the police heads to enhance patrol at public places, like bus stops and markets besides wanting the police force to keep a vigil on suspicious persons and articles.
Security of parking lots in markets, hotels, parks and other public places should be ensured by persuading their managements to make arrangements of vehicle and luggage checking, the IGP said.
The provincial police chief also asked the force to make a random checking of vehicles and people at selected places, but without causing inconvenience to the public. He said all places of worships must be given special attention.
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