"This is what a police inspector tells his subordinate earlier in the day when asked to take this correspondent and his photographer colleague to Bhikku Chowk, the epicenter of Malegaon's September 29 bomb blast.

Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Patil and his team, who reached there immediately after the blast to take stock of the situation, were brutally attacked by a furious mob which according to different accounts ranged from 5,000 to 25,000.

Additional SP Viresh Prabhu (on probation) and Inspector Mali, who had both accompanied Patil along with a posse of State Reserve Police, were critically injured during the mob attack. While Prabhu was attacked on the head with a solid iron pipe, Inspector Mali was guillotined using his uniform's rope and dragged some 40 feet away when the SRP had no choice but to fire in the air.

Viresh Prabhu, though out of danger now, according to the staff of Medical Hospital, is still under observation for his head injuries. Inspector Mali , however, is not as fortunate as he is still in a critical state.

This is the reason why the Police Inspector quoted in the beginning was scared to take us to Bhikku Chowk. They are demoralised after what happened with Sanjay Patil, Viresh Prabhu and Inspector Mali at Bhikku Chowk.

Image: Bhikku Chowk where the blast took place; Broken windows of the building opposite the blast site; shutter of the shop opposite to where the bike was placed was damaged by the vertically flying shrapnels; the water tank above the three-storeyed building opposite the blast site.

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