By IINA,
Jaipur : Terror struck India’s Pink City of Jaipur for the first time yesterday evening as serial blasts killed nearly 80 people and injured more than 150. Starting around 7.30 p.m. there were nine or 10 blasts within 15 minutes at six crowded places, including in the vicinity of two Hanuman temples, in the Walled City area, in the north western Indian state of Rajastan. Eight persons were picked up for questioning for their suspected role in the serial blasts as authorities today clamped curfew in 15 areas as a precautionary measure.
Those picked up for interrogation included a man who was injured in the explosions and a rickshaw puller as investigations pointed towards involvement of Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) in the explosions, Press Trust of India reported quoting informed sources. The blasts showed that HUJI has managed to establish cells in the desert state, the sources said.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria confirmed 60 dead and 150 injured though unofficial sources put the toll at 85.
Eyewitnesses said they could count 60 bodies in the overflowing mortuary of the City’s leading hospital, Sawai Man Singh. Some bodies were reportedly kept in the satellite hospital, Kanwatia, and a private hospital, Santokbha Durlabhji Memorial. The blasts caused panic in the entire city while the authorities sealed off the Walled City. No traffic was allowed through its historic gates. The communication system also was jammed with mobiles not giving out signals.
Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, who visited the injured at Sawai Mansingh Hospital, said the Centre which has already dispatched a contingent of National Security Guards was willing to send more paramilitary personnel if needed. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje also visited the hospitals. She is scheduled to hold a meeting of the state cabinet to take stock of the situation. The former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who spoke to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, said the Centre had assured the State authorities all possible help to handle the situation.
Director-General Police A.S. Gill said that forensic experts were still verifying the nature of the explosives. He did not confirm the use of RDX but said high intensity explosives were used in the bombs. The blasts outside the temples targeted the devotees who gather in large numbers on Tuesdays. One temple is at Sanganeri Gate, while the other is at Chandpole. The Chandpole blast was said to be of less intensity while the explosion on Maniharon ka Rasta near the victory tower, Sargasuli at Tripolia, was the most powerful. The explosions at Bari Chauper near the world famous Hawa Mahal claimed at least three lives. One of the bombs went off near a popular eating-place, Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar, in the crowded Johari Bazar area. Another exploded near the Kothwali police station at Choti Chauper. There are also reports that at least one live bomb was recovered near Chandpole.
Initial reports suggested that the terrorists used vehicles, including a car, cyclerickshaws and autorickshaws to plant the bombs, which were detonated with remote-controlled devices. One live bomb placed on a handle bar of a bicycle and found near the blasted areas have been defused, police said, noting that all the explosions were triggered with the help of timers between two Hanuman temples in heavily crowded areas of the old city. “We have collected sufficient evidence from the place of the blasts. These things are being analyzed by our technical experts. There was one explosive which we have defused,” Superintendent of Police, Jaipur, Raghvendra Suhasa said. Preliminary examination of the blast site indicated the possibility of ammonium nitrate being used in the explosive devices which were filled with ball bearings and small iron pipes to act as splinters, the sources said.