Four
low-intensity blasts rocked the
busy Junglee Maharaj Road in Pune
on August 1 evening injuring one
person, reports NDTV.Com.
Two other bombs were defused by
the Anti-Terror Squad. All explosives
were kept in cake boxes and placed
within a kilometer range. The
explosions took place between
7.37 and 8.15 pm during rush hour
in the heart of the city on Junglee
Maharaj Road, full of restaurants,
shops and the large Sambhaji Park,
popular for family outings in
the evening. The first blast
took place outside the Balgandharva
auditorium used to stage plays,
at a statue near that theatre,
opposite a McDonald’s outlet and
near a bank. One of the bombs,
placed on a cycle, was hooked
up to sophisticated circuitry.
The Police said that the explosives
near Dena Bank and Garware Bridge
were left in the wire-meshed carrier
bags, attached to the front of
the bicycles and the explosion
outside McDonalds went off in
a dustbin at its outer gate.
According
to The Hindu report, the
first explosion occurred around
7.30 p.m. near the Balgandharva
Rang Mandir, an auditorium on
Junglee Maharaj Road followed
by second explosion in a dustbin
outside the popular fast food
joint McDonald’s. Soon after,
the third and fourth blasts were
reported at Dena Bank and Garware
Chowk, in the same vicinity, with
the explosive material planted
on cycles. The Police said that
the explosions were set off with
pencil cell detonators placed
in a plastic bag, a dustbin and
on cycles at two locations.
Home
Secretary RK Singh said that the
injured person is being treated
as suspect and questioned by the
police. Mr. Singh also suspects
a terror angle as it was a planned
attack. After the blasts all cities
across India are on high alert.
A bomb disposal squad swept Jantar
Mantar in New Delhi where Anna
Hazare and his activists are on
a hunger strike, supported by
a large crowd.
Meanwhile,
Police sources said that the preliminary
report of the Forensic Sciences
Laboratory (FSL) indicates that
ammonium nitrate was used in the
Pune blasts. Some black sticky
substance has been found which
is being studied by the FSL to
ascertain what exactly it is.
The Anti Terror Squad (ATS) is
examining CCTV footage from the
branch of McDonald's outside which
one of the explosions took place.
Police Sources said that closed
circuit camera at another blast
site at Dena Bank are not working.
Apart from Maharashtra DGP and
the ATS, a team of National Investigative
Agency (NIA) also inspected the
blast sites. A team of National
Security Guards (NSG) joined the
probe on August 2 (today) morning. |
