S P O T L I G H T

6 die in Dhaka blasts
Tribune News Service
DHAKA, Jan 20 — Six persons were killed and at least 50 injured in two separate bomb explosions in Dhaka today. According to the police, four persons were killed when a bomb exploded in the middle of a public meeting of the Communist party of Bangabandhu and two others were killed in another explosion at Bangladesh Avenue, adjacent to the Paltan Maidan, where the meeting was going on. The injured have been admitted to hospital. The police was interrogating two youths who were apprehended by CPB supporters, before the explosion while distributing leaflets during the meeting. Ms Khalida Zia, Leader of the Opposition, in a statement, criticised the government for its failure to ensure safety of the life of the people. This was the second such incident of bomb explosion in a public meeting in Dhaka. The four-party alliance had given a call for a bandh on Monday.

Blast in AP town
HYDERABAD, Jan 20 (UNI) — A bomb, attached to a timer device, exploded in a lodge at the temple town of Puttaparthi in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh last night. The police said here today that two people, hailing from Madanapalle, checked in around 6.30 p.m. and left the lodge half-an-hour later leaving the door open. The blast left a gaping hole in the wall. No one was present at the spot at the time of explosion, the police added.

Muslims resent Gujarat order
NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (UNI) — Insaf Party leader Syed Shahabuddin has complained to Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel regarding an order reportedly given by his government to all schools in the state to subscribe to an RSS magazine Sadhana. Claiming that Sadhana had been included in a list of approved periodicals for subscription out of government funds, Mr Shahabuddin protested against the programme of “saffronisation of school education” under the Keshubhai Government and urged that this “uncalled for, anti-democratic and anti-educational drive be withdrawn immediately.” “Sadhana is absolutely communal and anti-secular in tone and content. It is not a magazine fit for school students at an impressionable age. Official patronage of the magazine amounts to communal indoctrination and brainwashing in a secular state. It should be immediately withdrawn from the list,” he added. Meanwhile, All-India Milli Council assistant secretary-general Israr-ul-Haq, in a statement here, also condemned the RSS for trying to impose its ideology on the educational system.