Bangalore Blast

‘Serial bombs’ hit India’s IT hub
Vidio of Banglore bomb Blast
Seven bombs have hit the southern Indian city of Bangalore within minutes of each other, police say.

One woman was killed and several people injured. Police say bombs were detonated with timing devices.

The blasts have been described as low intensity and all are reported to have occurred in crowded areas.

Bangalore is the information technology hub of India with more than 40% of the country’s IT and software industry based there.

Malls, schools and cinema halls across Bangalore have been shut and police have cordoned off the blast sites.
“We are conducting the investigation. Bomb squads have reached the scene. We appeal to the citizens to carry on their normal activities without any fear,” Bangalore city police commissioner Shankar Bidri said.

Mr Bidri said each of the explosions were of a similar magnitude to one or two grenades.

Police said a woman died in the explosion at Madiwala area.

Other blasts were in the areas of Nayanadhalli, Adugudi, Rajaram Circle, Anepallya and Ashok Nagar.

The injured have been taken to Bangalore’s St John’s hospital.

A large part of India’s IT and outsourcing business is concentrated in Bangalore.

Dozens of large international firms like Microsoft, Intel and IBM also have offices in the city which is often called the Silicon Valley of India.

There have been a number of blasts in Indian cities in recent years.

They are almost always blamed on foreign militants but there have been no significant arrests or convictions in any of the cases.
Police with sniffer dogs search one of the damaged areas
Bengaluru has been attacked. Low intensity blasts in a span of one hour in six different places rocked the IT capital of India on Friday afternoon in which two people died and several others were injured. While the first seven blasts took place between 1.30-2.30 pm, the eighth blast blast took place at Hosaguddahalli, near Gopalan Mall, on Mysore road at around 5.30 pm and the ninth blast took place near the R V Engineering College on Mysore Road at 6.30 pm. The Bengaluru police have termed it as an act of terror.

The first two blasts occurred at Adugodi at 1.30 pm behind the famous Forum Mall, which is a major shopping destination in Bengaluru. The second bomb was placed near a granite factory under some granite slabs.

The blast at Madiwala occured near the check post at 1.50 pm, which were followed by a blast at Nayandahalli in a bus shelter at 2.10 pm. Between 2.10 and 2.30 pm very low intensity blasts were reported near the Mallya hospital at a park and on Richmond and Langford road.

A woman who died in the blasts has been identified as Lakshmi. She, along with her husband, was standing at the bus stop when the explosion occurred. Reports suggest that she was hit on the head by a bolt. He husband Ravi has also been injured in the attack. Five other persons have been injured in the blasts.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri said the blasts were of low intensity and gelatin sticks were used.

Preliminary investigations show that the bombs were attached to a timer device and were triggered off by a mobile phone. A similar pattern was used in the Hyderbad twin blasts and also at Jaipur and Ajmer.

While various theories are being floated regarding the cause of the blasts, the police maintain that it was only to scare people and create law and order problems.

While the Intelligence Bureau are not ruling out the hand of the Students Islamic Movement of India behind the blasts, the cops maintain that it is too early to blame anyone.

The IB says that the attack could be three pronged — one to scare the IT sector in Bengaluru, two to warn the Karnataka police in the wake of the arrests of SIMI cadres in Karnataka which led to the arrests of 10 supremos of SIMI in Indore and lastly as a retaliatory measure since the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power for the first time in south India.

Looking closely at the manner in which the attacks were carried out, the IB says that it was more of an attempt to scare the people rather than kill. The bombs were of low intensity and the places in which they were hidden is a clear indication that the intention was more to scare the general public and in the case of the Madiwala and Adugodi explosions, the IT sector in particular. There are large number of IT professionals living in these two areas.

Moments after the explosions, panic set in Bengaluru city. People were seen running helter skelter at the blast sites, while the rest of the city remained tense. What made matters worse was that all mobile lines were jammed and people were trying desperately to contact their near and dear ones.

However, shops and establishments did not down shutters and offices and schools remained open even after hearing the news of the blasts. The only effect of the blasts were traffic jams all across the city.

On the spot, people looked shaken up and were in a daze following the explosions. They said they heard a loud explosion and when they looked around there was dust that had kicked up and several window panes shattered.

The police were quick to get into the thick of the action and both the dog squad and the forensic team were pressed into service.

Bidri assured the people that the situation was under control and there was no cause for panic. He said that security had been beefed up and the police have taken stock of the situation.

Gopal Hosur, joint commissioner, crime, said that there was nothing to worry. He said that the blasts were low intensity in nature. He assured the people that the situation was under control.
Images of Banglore Blast…

A string of nine bomb blasts one after another shook Karnataka’s capital during the busy lunch hour today, leaving two killed and 20 injured.

The crude bombs, concealed near refugee camps and roadside stuffed with nuts and bolts, exploded between 1.30 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. at Adugodi, Madivala, Nayandahalli, Mysore Road, Richmond Circle, Pantharapalya and Vittal Mallya Road.

Two persons were killed and 12 injured in the blasts, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in New Delhi.

A woman waiting at a bus stop in Madivala on the Bangalore-Hosur Road was killed in the blast, while her husband and another person were seriously injured.

Four of the blasts were between Hosur Road and Madiwala; the other three at Nayandahalli, Vittal Mallya Road and Richmond Circle, City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari told reporters.

Except in two places, low intensity explosives were used for the blasts, which occurred within a few minutes of each other, he said.

Police have recovered gelatin sticks, mainly used in quarry operations, from one of the blast sites.

No group claimed immediate responsibility for the blasts. However, sources in the Union Home Ministry said that the hand of local cadre of banned SIMI was suspected to be behind the blasts and the expertise in assembling the low intensity devices possibly being provided by Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the serial blasts and asked the people to remain calm and maintain communal harmony. He announced Rs.One lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of each of the deceased.
Blaming anti-national and anti-social elements for the serial blasts in Bangalore, the BJP government in Karnataka today said they seemed to be part of a pre-determined plan to malign it. Describing the blasts as a ‘cowardly act’ aimed at spreading panic and disrupting peace and normalcy, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today directed police to constitute a special team to probe the explosions.

Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting which reviewed the situation arising out of the terror attacks, he said prima-facie, it appeared to be a pre-determined plan to malign his government. Asked who was behind the blasts, Yeddyurappa said it’s too early to say but “it appears to be the handiwork of anti-social, anti-national elements who wanted to create panic in the city.

It’s the handiwork of destructive and anti-national forces. It’s a pre-planned act”.

“Anti-national elements disturbing peace through violent activities will never be allowed to go scot-free”, he said. The blasts took place between 1.30 PM and 2.30 PM, the Chief Minister said adding one person was killed and seven were injured.

He said police have been directed to provide security to all sensitive places like bus stands, railway stations, airport and for the IT-BT (Information Technology-bio Technology) companies. Yeddyurappa said the Centre has been posted about the developments.

Government announced Rs one lakh for the family of the woman who was killed in the blasts. The injured would get between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, he said and appealed to the people to remain calm and maintain peace.

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