Gunmen on motorbikes shot at a tourist bus near the main mosque in the Indian capital yesterday, wounding two Taiwanese visitors in an attack only weeks before the city hosts the Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth Games is seen as a showcase event for India as it emerges onto the global economic and diplomatic stage. Some militant groups have threatened to disrupt the Games.
“The two men were wearing helmets and raincoats. They fired indiscriminately at a tourist bus before escaping,” K. Singh, a senior police officer in New Delhi, told reporters.
PHOTO: AFP
Six Taiwanese were boarding the bus on a visit to Jama Masjid when the shooting happened, the vehicle’s driver said. The historic mosque in the old congested part of the capital is one of New Delhi’s most popular tourist attractions. The police have cordoned off the area.
Security has been tightened in the capital ahead of the Games, with authorities mindful of Islamist militant attacks in Indian cities over recent years in which dozens have been killed. Police would not confirm whether militants were behind the attack. In 2006, at least seven people were injured when two blasts rocked the same area.
Doctors said the condition of the wounded was stable and one of them was undergoing surgery in hospital.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Spokesman James Chang (章計平) confirmed that the two tourists were Taiwanese.
Chang said that one of the men was wounded in the abdomen, while a bullet grazed the head of the other Taiwanese.
The former underwent surgery, Chang said, adding that the injuries of the two men were “under control.”
Chang said that the ministry’s staffers based in New Delhi rushed to the hospital right after learning of the shooting to offer assistance. The Indian government offered an apology over the incident, he added.
Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS said the two men were employed as its camera crew.
Chang said the shooting looked “random” for the time being, but he urged the Indian government to investigate the case and complete the probe as soon as possible.
“There was some firing outside gate No. 3 of Jama Masjid,” New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told reporters. “We can’t say [whether it was a militant attack].”
There have been some militant attacks in India this year. In February, a powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in the western city of Pune, killing 17 people. India has blamed the Indian Mujahidin, a homegrown militant group with links to militants in Pakistan, for the Pune attack.
“All that I can appeal to everybody is, please do not panic. An incident like this is something worrying but nothing to panic about,” Chief Minister of Delhi Shiela Dikshit said.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
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