India caught between two friends
Delhi still to point fingers
New Delhi, Feb. 14: India is proceeding with extreme caution on yesterday's car-bombing, desisting so far from echoing Israel's unqualified indictment of Iran.
The Union home secretary went so far as to place on record that "it's premature to take any country's name" and senior ministers spoke of India's multiple friends, reflecting the eagerness to steer clear of the minefield of Israel-Iran conflict.
The statements were in sharp contrast with the unequivocal assertion by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon after yesterday's New Delhi blast that Iran was behind the plot.
Israel's ambassador to India, Alon Usphiz, echoed his Prime Minister today. "This is something that was planned in Tehran. Creator of it is terror-sponsoring nation Iran," Usphiz told NDTV.
The statements from Indian ministers and officials stood out in sharp contrast. If home secretary R.K. Singh said "we have no evidence to name any country", his minister P. Chidambaram put the restraint in perspective.
"We have friendly relations with Israel like we have friendly relations with every country. Diplomats of every country are entitled to live and work here in peace and security and any attempt to attack any diplomat and members of a diplomat's family is condemnable," Chidambaram said.
Foreign minister S.M. Krishna echoed him. "We have close relations with Israel and good relations with other countries, too. We won't call it a war, India doesn't want to get sucked into action between two countries," Krishna said in a thinly veiled reference to New Delhi's independent approach towards Tehran. ( )
Israel took indirect note. "We respect your decision-making (process). India knows exactly what threats Israel is dealing with and we discuss it in a spirit of friendship," ambassador Usphiz said, expressing "probably the highest level of confidence" in Indian authorities.
Indian security agencies said this evening they had not yet got the slightest evidence suggesting involvement of any "foreign hand".
"So far, we have not got any evidence which points towards involvement of any foreign hand in the blast as alleged by Israel. We are exploring all angles," a top Intelligence Bureau officer said.
According to him, the investigators are still groping in the dark as the biker who stuck a palmtop-sized magnetic bomb on the Toyota Innova is still at large.
"We have friendly relations with both Iran and Israel and cannot afford to make any sweeping statement without being doubly sure. We have been caught between two friends," the official added.
Terming the attack a "terror strike", Chidambaram said: "It is quite clear that a very well-trained person has committed this attack."
"There is reason to believe that the target was the Israeli diplomat's wife and, therefore, one has to proceed on the basis that it was a terrorist attack," he said, referring to Tal Yehoshua Koren who was injured.
"We condemn the incident and, at the moment, I am not pointing a finger at any particular group or any particular organisation"¦," Chidambaram said.
Sleuths of Delhi police's special cell have found magnetic pieces inside the damaged Innova. "It is too early to say anything about the composition used in the sticky bomb but no RDX was used," said B.K. Gupta, the Delhi police commissioner.
"A probe is already in progress and nothing can be presumed now. At this stage I want to make it clear that we have not got anything which shows the attack was the handiwork of Iran. It is too early to reach any conclusion now," he said.
Police today took eyewitness Gopal Krishnan, who was travelling in a car when the bomb went off, to the spot where he recreated the scene.
Based on his account, the police said the biker tailed the car and stuck the bomb on the rear door (not rear windshield as reported yesterday) as soon as it stopped at a red light.
The magnetic bomb was as small as a palmtop. "It was of palmtop size and not bigger than a brick. A sticky bomb explodes in three to five seconds after it is stuck. We suspect that the biker hit a boulevard after sticking the bomb and took a left turn and fled. The bomb could have been exploded using a remote, timer or mechanical trigger," Gupta added.
According to him, the impact could have been bigger had the bomb been stuck near the fuel tank. Gupta said Indian agencies have already sought information from Georgia and Bangkok, the sites of plots or attacks.
A source said CCTV footage of the blast site did not provide any clue. "The footage is very hazy. We are scanning other CCTVs installed outside embassies nearby," the source said
India caught between two friends
of Iran...
