By IANS
Hyderabad : At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured, many seriously, as two powerful bombs went off almost simultaneously at an amusement park and a popular eatery in the heart of Hyderabad Saturday evening in the city’s ghastliest terror attack.
Several of the injured were battling for life in a government hospital as police and detectives got into the act of trying to find those responsible for the well-planned terror attacks in the Andhra Pradesh capital.
The first blast went off at the government-run Lumbini Amusement Park at around 7.45 p.m. when some 900 people were watching a laser show just across the road from the state secretariat. At least six people were killed there.
Even before the stunned authorities could react, another explosion, seemingly more powerful, ripped through Gokul Chat Bhandar, a well-known eatery about five km away, killing at least 25 people.
The casualty figures were provided by state Home Minister K. Jana Reddy. Unofficial sources, however, put the toll at 40 even as police feared the figure could rise.
As panic set in and people fled in horror, both sites were splattered with blood and strewn with body parts.
“I was passing through the area when I heard a loud noise. There was utter panic and people were all running helter-skelter. I saw more than a dozen bodies while the injured were crying for help,” said Srinivas, an eyewitness at Gokul Chat.
A distraught-looking Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy, visiting the Lumbini Park, frantically appealed to people to remain calm.
“Do not hear rumours, do not spread rumours,” he said.
Para-military Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been deployed in the Koti area. Police used force to disperse a mob that gathered in the area and shouted slogans against the government. The angry mob also threw stones at buses.
Police have intensified patrolling in the communally sensitive old city, where a bomb blast during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid had killed nine people on May 18 in the city’s first major brush with terror. An hour after the mosque blast five people had been killed in police firing on a violent mob.
The 400-year-old city has a long history of communal riots but has remained by and large peaceful for last 15 years. The terror attack at Mecca Masjid and now at two crowded places outside the Muslim-majority old city are being seen as an attempt to trigger communal riots.
Hyderabad District Collector R.V. Chandravadan said 25 bodies were brought to the government-run Osmania Hospital alone while five bodies were taken to two private hospitals.
Energy Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir, who is also the in-charge minister for Hyderabad, confirmed that six people were killed in Lumbini Park, abutting Hussain Sagar Lake in the heart of the city.
Three bodies were lying amid chairs at the Lumbini Park open-air auditorium 30 minutes after the blast. There were bloodstains all over the area. Three of the victims succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
A large number of people including women and children were present. The park is usually full of people out with their families on evenings, especially on weekends.
Minutes after the first blast, another powerful explosion ripped apart Gokul Chat Bhandar, which is thronged by huge crowds on evenings. The eatery, famous for its lip-smacking fast food, was littered with body parts, pieces of human flesh, belongings of the victims, plates and other utensils.
Senior police officials rushed to both sites and cordoned them off. Police sources said the blasts were acts of terror and they believe RDX was used in both attacks.
The chief minister held a high-level meeting at the secretariat to review the situation. He also visited Lumbini Park.
A red alert has been sounded in Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad. Police have sealed all exit points and are checking vehicles. Security has been tightened at the airport, railway stations, bus stations and shopping malls. Cinema halls have cancelled their late night shows.
Following the worst-ever terror attacks in the city, police have also beefed up security in Hitech City, an IT hub that houses many software giants.
An alert has also been sounded in other major cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh, as well as in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnatka.
Security agencies were placed on high alert in the national capital Delhi also. “In the wake of the Hyderabad blasts, we have placed unprecedented security across the city and security officials are prepared to tackle any untoward situation,” Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS.
The police have deployed extra staff at all sensitive locations – temples, railway, bus and metro stations, theatres and crowded market places.
“Apart from putting barricades at strategic traffic signals, we have also asked the bomb disposal squad and quick reaction teams to be on alert,” Bhagat informed.
The President Pratibha Devisingh Patil condemned the blasts and said they were “aimed at disturbing harmony and peace”.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also condemned the bombings and appealed to people to remain calm.
The union home ministry was in touch with the state administration, with Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta speaking to state officials over the investigations into the incident.
Saturday’s blasts occurred hours after four people, believed to be members of absconding underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s gang, were arrested and Rs.30 million in fake currency were recovered from them. Police sources said they were trying to probe the possible link of the gang to the blasts.
Ever since the blast at the Mecca Masjid, the city had seen many hoax bomb calls at several public places.
On the eve of Independence Day, intelligence agencies had warned of terror attacks. The agencies had reportedly alerted police that a group of terrorists had sneaked into the city and could carry out attacks.