Peace march held in Delhi in memory of Pune blast victims

Students from various city schools joined by activists today held prayers and lighted candles to pay tributes to the victims of the Pune blast in which 11 people, including a Delhi boy, lost their lives.

A peace march was also organised by the Anti Terrorist Front to pay homage to those killed in the blast. Chanting slogans like 'Terror free India' and 'Fight against Terrorism', the students and the outfit's chairman MS Bitta asked the government to fight terror with "will power".

"Innocent students from several parts of the country who had gone to study in Pune lost their lives in the terror attack. The government should tackle terrorism with will power and without taking into consideration the vote-bank politics," Bitta said.

He said due to lack of commitment and will power, none of those responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks has been punished so far.

The outfit's chief, however, said there was no intelligence failure in the Pune incident and asserted that what was needed at this juncture was "unity among politicians" to defeat the forces of terror.

Bitta praised home minister P Chidambaram for the steps he has taken after taking over and said he should be allowed to work without any undue political interference.

In the first major attack since 26/11 carnage, terror struck Pune on February 13, killing 11 people. Delhi student Aditya Mehta, 21, was among the dead.