Terror trail runs deep, Surat bomb count now 20

SHELL(SHOCKED) SURAT: This is the second bomb that was found in the diamond city on Wednesday.

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New Delhi: The terror trail runs deep in Surat. One more bomb was found and defused in the city, taking the bomb count to 20 in the last two days.

The bomb was found on a treetop in the Kapodara area of Surat. This is the second bomb that was found in the diamond city on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, security arrangements have been beefed up at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata following recent bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

Additional commandos have been posted in the area to provide security at all units, station's Ground Director C P Jhamb said.

Consultation meetings were organised in the past two days with representatives from district administration, police and the Intelligence Bureau.

Rajasthan Atomic Power Station is located in Rawatbhata, a remote village in Chittorgarh district and about 64 km from the industrial town of Kota.

Strict security measures are being taken in the wake of the scores of bombs that were discovered in Surat in the past two days.

A live bomb was found in Varacha locality in Surat on Wednesday shortly after a visit to the area by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who said the country needed to fight the "proxy war" being waged by terrorists.

The bomb was detected at Baroda Prestige Market, about 500 metres from Labeshwar Chowk, where Modi had gone as part of his visit to some of the areas in the city from where explosive devices were found on Tuesday, police said.

The bomb disposal squad, which rushed to the spot, defused the bomb, police said.

The bomb detected on Wednesday was similar to the 18 found on Tuesday from in and around Varacha, where several diamond processing units are located.

Modi, who arrived in Surat on Wednesday morning, announced a reward of Rs 51 lakh for information leading to the terrorists involved in the Ahmedabad serial blasts and the planting of bombs in Surat.

He said with terrorists targeting cities like Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad, it seemed that their intention was to cripple financial activities in the country.

The Chief Minister said as many as 12 big terror strikes had taken place in the country in the last two years and India needed to firmly fight this "proxy war" being waged by the terrorists.

Besides the bombs, two explosive-laden cars were found in this diamond hub on Sunday. The cars had been stolen from Mumbai.

(With inputs from PTI)