Lakshman pays tribute to Pune blast victims

PUNE - Cricketer V.V.S. Lakshman Sunday paid tribute to victims of last year’s blast at Pune’s popular German bakery by offering flowers and lighting a candle at the site ahead of a series of memorial services planned as a mark of homage here.

Lakshman visited German Bakery, which still bears the scars of the blast and is being renovated.

A number of memorial services, candle light processions and other tributes have been planned across the city Sunday evening to pay homage to those who lost their lives in the blast. The terror attack exactly a year back left 17 dead, including four foreigners, and 65 injured.

Besides leaving a permanent scar on Pune residents, the terror blast shattered the image of Pune as a quiet city, the academic and IT capital of the state, enjoying a salubrious climate round the year and making it one of the finest urban hubs in Maharashtra.

The blast also restricted movement of youngsters, especially in their favourite hang-out spots all over the city, for sometime. The German Bakery was one such venue, popular with locals and foreigners alike.

Last year, before the blast took place, Pune’s young crowd was warming up to the much-awaited Valentine’s Day celebrations the following day. Their celebrations were cut short at 6.55 p.m. when the bomb ripped through the bakery, claiming 17 lives.