Church appeals for peace after blast in Delhi

The Catholic Church on Wednesday appealed for peace after the capital Delhi witnessed a blast that left a dozen dead and injured several others.

A powerful blast ripped through Gate No. 5 of the Delhi High Court killing 13 and injuring 74 on September 7.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic Church in India, condemned the blast and expressed deep condolences to the families of the deceased.

"We are deeply pained at the heinous act of terror which has no meaning in any form but exposes the hollowness of the perpetrators who are anti national and a great threat to society. Each human life is a gift of God and we must do everything to protect it," CBCI said in a statement.

"Those who forcefully take the lives of innocent people work against the divine plan and prove themselves as enemies of a peaceful social order. We call upon those who indulge in violence to give up the path of destruction and follow the path that leads to unity and peace in society."

The Catholic Church urged the civil society to be more vigilant and assist the administration in doing away with terrorism.

President of the Bishops' Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, earlier made a strong appeal for peace and harmony, and said Church wants to help promote love, peace and harmony in society.

Condoling the death of those killed in the blast, the Conference of Religious India (CRI) said the prayers of one lakh Religious of this country were with the people who lost their lives and those who sustained injuries.

Br Mani Mekkunnel, National Secretary of CRI, said the the government had not learnt any lessons from the past to deal with such menace. "Even the response after such an attack is the same as the earlier ones. Accountability seems to be at a very low level," he said.

He stressed the need for more "peace initiatives as a response to every attack of this type."

"In a healthy society, terrorism cannot survive and we need to move forward looking for the elimination of evil forces at all levels," he said.

The bombing at the High Court is the second in less than four months. Two terrorist organisations - Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) and Indian Mujahideen - have claimed responsibility for the explosion.

In an e-mail to a few media organisations, Indian Mujahideen has further warned of carrying out another attack on September 13 at a crowded shopping complex.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formed a 20-member team to investigate the terror attack.