Bomb explosion in the Women's Recreation Club at Bethel Church, Machalipatnam

bomb explosion in the Women's Recreation Club at Bethel Church, Machalipatnam
Purpose:
The fact finding team was constituted to independently ascertain the facts pertinent to the bomb explosion in the Women's Recreation Club at Bethel Church, Machalipatnam. The government authorities had stated that the bomb was set-off by persons involved in internal rivalry.

The site:
The site:
The venue of the meeting was the Southern side of a 1 acre plot having a compound wall all around, with the only 12-14 feet high access gate being on its Northern side. The stage was erected in the Southern side, facing the North-East. The audience of around 6,000 people, including 4,000 women and children was also facing North-East.


The Strategy:
The women's and men's section was demarcated by an aisle roughly 3 feet wide. Around 9:00 pm, a stranger walked into the meeting carrying a bag. A liitle later, he asked the person sitting beside him, Mr Vasnath Rao, a local pastor, where he could get some drinking water. Rao asked him to contact the volunteers. The man then placed a note book on his chair, left the bag on the floor and walked towards the rear.


The Explosion:
Roughly twenty mniutes later, just before the final prayer was to commence, there was a loud blast that was heard almost 2 kms away, leaving over 30 people injured.


The Foot Soldier:
As per eye witness accounts, the person who planted the bomb, which was in his bag, was well built, fair complexioned and in mid-30's. He was wearing a white pant and a white T-shirt and spoke Telugu in Telangana accent (different from the local accent).


Antecedents of the purported rivalry and vital statements:
Mrs Baby, about 52 yeras of age- severly injured in the blast. Her son is also one of the accused in the murder of a Christian. According to her, the murder occured following a drunken brawl on December '98 over details concerning Christmas celebrations.

Mrs Samudrudu, grandmother of one of the persons murdered in '98. According to her, two of her grandsons got into a drunken brawl in December '98, following which one of them got killed. She also said that folowing the murder, arrests had been promptly made and that the case was under due process. She also asserted that subsequently, there was complete peace, understanding and cordial relationships in the village. She added that, following the bomb blast, police had arrested two of her other grandsons. "I am 80 years old and there is nobody to feed me and take care of my cattle since the last four-five days as even the father of the boys is not in station," she said.

Mr Vasnath Rao, who was seated next to the bag where the bomb was placed: Mr Vasnath Rao has said that he had no enemies. He also added that, it was only when the men from the murdered man's family got drunk that they threatened to do away with members of the accused's family as revenge.

Police Version: Local police authorities agreed that the CM and the DGP of the state came to a hasty conclusion in making the public statement that "the blast occurred due to factional rivalry among two groups of Christians." The authorities also said there was no evidence pointing to the same.


Other Observations:
The ABVP and other front activists of the parivar have become active in the area during the recent past, mostly after a number of meetings were held as part of the celebrations of 'Christ Jayanti.'

Provocative anti-Christian graffiti are seen all over town.


Analysis:
1. The involvement of the family of the man murdered in '98 in the attack does not hold any credibility because: a) The bomb was placed in a public meeting attended by over 6000 people. The enemity, if there was any, was between two families and did not invlove the entire community. b) The family of the murdered man does not have the means to go to the extent of acquiring a bomb, which in the least, is an extremely criminal and complicated process.

2. Going by the statement of Vasanth Rao, the attack was meticulously planned and carried out with great care, indicating that it was not done by amateurs.

3. The assumption that, since the bag containing the bomb was placed next to him, Mr Vasnath Rao, was the target, is untenable. This is because firstly, he has no known enemies and secondly, even if did have enemies, the attack would have occurred as a personal attack and not a corporate one in a public meeting.

4. The local police version that the attack could not have been carried out by members of the murderd man's family holds water as there definitely is a lack of any evidence pointing to it. However, their version that the ISI could be involved is open to debate.

5. In the light of subsequent bomb blasts in Prakasham and West Godavari district, the local police's opinion that the blast could have been engineered by persons jealous with the organisers of the meeting is totally untenable.


Council's Conclusion:
1. The authorities statement that the blast was caused by people from the community embroiled in internal rivalry is false.
2. Going by the anti-Christian graffiti in the town, anti-Christian sentiments were running high and, therefore, this angle needs to be explored.
3. The matter of concern, which also needs to be closely examined, is the circumstances leading to the authorities making the statement that it was caused by internal rivalry as.
5.The statement, if not debunked by subsequent facts, neatly fits into the threats made by the men of the murdered man. These threats would have definitely found their way up the law and order machinery.
6) The motives of the blast was obviously a) To cause loss of life. The fact that it resulted in only injuries to 30 people is providential. b) To scare the non-Christians who are attending Christian meetings