ATF demands revival of POTA

• Pays homage to Dilsukhnagar blast victims

• Demands Centre to act tough against terrorist outfits

Hyderabad: Anti-Terrorism Forum (ATF) on Friday demanded the government to bring into effect Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) or opt for stronger anti- terror laws to save the country and its people from increasing terror strikes.

Activists of the forum paid homage to the victims of Dilsukhnagar twin blasts, which had rocked the city killing 18 persons and leaving over 119 injured on February 21 last year.

At a meeting organised at the blast site in respect of the victims, the forum came down heavily on the UPA government for its failure to act tough against the terrorist elements that were wreaking havoc in the country.

ATF convener R Shasidhar demanded that POTA be brought back.

“The government behaved very insensibly. It has chosen to politicise the entire issue. This is not the appropriate way of taking forward the anti-terror fight,” he stated.

Several victims live with severe injuries such as loss of hearing, vision and even limbs and have had to go through long periods of recovery. Some of them have not received any compensation, as they had no time to pursue that while coping with their trauma, he added.

“Disruptive and anti-social elements need to be identified and brought to an end. A clear line must be drawn between those who do and those who do not support our fight against terrorism. This also can be very demoralising and devastating for the security forces.

It is high time we set aside all other considerations and tackle terrorism unitedly,” Shasidhar said.

He pointed out that steady influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants to the city was a major concern especially considering the threat of cross-border terrorism. He said that they were allegedly supported and sheltered by political parties which see them as easy ‘vote banks’.

Social activists, academicians, school children and others also paid homage to the blast victims on the day.