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Surat/Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Even as Gujarat tries to come to grips with synchronised bombings that left 50 people dead in Ahmedabad three days ago, at least 18 live bombs were found in different areas of Surat , taking the number of unexploded devices found since the blasts began to 21.
Most of the bombs in Surat were uncovered in the Varacha area and bomb disposal squads were literally running from point to point to defuse them.
A provision store owner opening his shop near the police post in Labeshwar reported the first explosive device.
A little while later another bomb was found near the Baroda bridge in the Santoshnagar area. Explosives packed inside an electric meter boxa had been placed near a garment shop.
Later in the afternoon, another bomb was found on the branches of a banyan tree. Just as security personnel thought the worst was over, they were called to Varacha's mini diamond market where four more bombs were found. All four devices were defused.
The latest discoveries came after a high alert had been sounded in Surat on Sunday following the discovery of two cars laden with explosives, powder material, gelatin sticks and shrapnel.
No explosions
Strangely, none of the bombs found exploded, leading to various theories on whether the city was being used as a staging post and a cache by terrorists on their way to Ahmedabad.
"It's been only because of a vigilant public that we managed to defuse the bombs in the nick of time. We have asked people to avoid crowded areas," said the city's police commissioner R.M.S. Brar.
In Ahmedabad, investigators were not any closer to nabbing those behind the 21 blasts that rocked the city on Saturday evening. Blast sites were being scoured for clues and survivors questioned for leads.
Abdul Halim, a Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activist from Uttar Pradesh, had been detained by police.
Officials said the arrest of three suspects from Surendranagar could provide some vital clues. The trio were picked up soon after the blasts and handed over to the Ahmedabad police crime branch.
In New Delhi, the central government looked at ways to rewrite the Explosives Rules of 1983 so as to regulate the commercial usage, handling and sale of ammonium nitrate - which has become the explosive of choice for terror outfits.
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