An Indian Mujahideen member has been detained for questioning by the police in connection with a series of blasts that rocked India's holy Buddhist shrine in Gaya in the eastern state of Bihar. Bodhgaya is where Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.
Anwar Hussain Malik, the suspect, was arrested from the Indian state of West Bengal. The police said that Malik was also involved in the 2010 German Bakery blasts in the Indian city of Pune that killed more than 16 people. It is believed he supplied the explosives.
A series of eight blasts occurred in and around the Buddhist shrine on Sunday morning around five thirty. The blasts came just a day after the birthday of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Two people were injured in the blasts that hit the Mahabodhi temple and the Tergar Monastery, which is the residence of one of the highest Tibetan spiritual leaders, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje in Bodhgaya.
The Dalai Lama, who turned 78 Saturday, described the terror attacks as "very sad" while noting that it could be an act of "few individuals" and "shouldn't be considered serious."
"Fortunately, there was no damage to the Bodhi Tree or the main temple structure," the Dalai Lama told reporters.
"In the first blast which took place near the Bodhi tree, a table was blown up because of which two persons were injured. The second blast, I think, was inside the enclosure where books were kept. The furniture was damaged but there was no damage to the monuments or statues," said the Tibetan spiritual leader.
It is believed that these blasts are a result of the ongoing clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in the Buddhist majority-country of Myanmar.
People in Myanmar want the Dalai Lama and the Burmese Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates, to intervene and end the sectarian clashes in the Buddhist country Myanmar, formally known as Burma.
The Dalai Lama, who is currently in exile in India, has urged Suu Kyi to end the unrest but the opposition leader seems not yet ready to take any concrete position as she is apparently hoping to win the 2015 Presidential election.
If Suu Kyi wins the election, then she might be able to bring an end to the sectarian clashes in the Buddhist country.
