Deadly Blast in Hazaribag Reopens Old Wounds
A powerful explosion rocked Habibi Nagar in Hazaribag on Wednesday. The blast claimed three lives. This tragic event has stirred painful memories for local residents. They vividly recall a similar explosion in 2016 that killed six people in the same area.
Area with a Troubled Past
Habibi Nagar is a densely populated Muslim locality. It lies right next to Khirgaon, one of the largest Muslim neighborhoods in town. Hazaribag district itself has a complex history. It connects to the 1989 riots and several clashes that followed over the years.
Security forces gunned down two Pakistani nationals and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in Khirgaon back in January 2002. These individuals were wanted in the attack on the American Centre in Kolkata case. That incident marked the first confirmed terror link to Hazaribag.
Later, authorities arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Taufiq from his Kashmir House residence at Pugmil in 2012. Pune police arrested ISIS terrorist Shahnawaz Alam, a native of Hazaribag, in 2023. Another terrorist linked to al-Qaida, Faizan Ahmad, was held from Lohsighna in Hazaribag just this year in 2024.
Police Investigation Underway
Police teams are currently probing the cause and nature of Wednesday's explosion. A senior police officer told TOI that investigation teams have received clear directions. They must examine this case while keeping earlier terror-related incidents and bomb-making accidents from the locality in mind.
"Wednesday's blast raises suspicions because of the district's past security concerns. We are not ruling out any angle at this stage. Forensic inputs, technical analysis and intelligence assessment would be part of the probe," a police officer stated.
Intelligence Circles Express Concern
The incident has triggered significant concern within intelligence circles. They worry about the recurrence of such explosions in a long-identified sensitive zone. This comes despite sustained surveillance efforts following the 2016 blast.
Security experts hold a firm belief. They think repeated incidents in the same area point to systemic lapses. These could include possible gaps in local intelligence gathering and inadequate follow-up actions by authorities.
Police officials said they would draw no conclusions until the probe finishes. However, they openly admitted the blast has once again placed Habibi Nagar and Khirgaon under extremely tight vigil.
Political Reaction and Calls for Action
Hazaribag MP Manish Jaiswal posed a critical question. "How does an area under a security shadow for long continue to be a scene of such incidents? The nature of blast hints at something big. The area needs tight security search and a thorough sanitisation exercise," he asserted.
The community now waits anxiously for answers. They hope the investigation will bring clarity and prevent future tragedies in this historically sensitive part of Hazaribag.
