By IANS,
Ahmedabad : A high alert has been sounded in Gujarat after a terror attack in Modasa town in Sabarkantha district late Monday night that killed at least one person and injured 12, the state home minister said.
The incident occurred at around 9.30 p.m. when two men came on a motorcycle and reportedly threw a bomb at a crowded Suka market in Modasa town, a predominantly Muslim area around 80 km from here. At the time of the attack the market was crowded with people shopping for the coming festival of Eid.
Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah told IANS late Monday night that only one person has died so far and that was the official fatality figure. He added that a high alert has been sounded in the state. The same was confirmed by Sabarkantha Collector M. Thennarasan to IANS who said that only one person has died adding that more police force has been requested.
Thennarasan also said that there was no need to panic as far as Navratri festivities were concerned as this was an isolated incident.
Police rushed in after the blast and cordoned off the entire market area. A police team alongwith a dog squad and a bomb disposal squad were also rushed to the town from district headquarters. An Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) team was also on its way to Modasa.
“There has been an explosion and we are ascertaining how it took place. The bomb and dog squads are at the site and further investigations are on,” District Superintendent of Police R.B. Brahmbhatt said.
The blast was so powerful that it destroyed two motorcycles parked nearby and an electric pole. The modus operandi of the attack was similar to that of the recent Mehrauli blast in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, 17 low-intensity crude bombs were recovered from the Kalupur area in Ahmedabad.