Terror struck Mumbai when three serial blasts rocked crowded areas in the peak hour this evening in a space of 10 minutes killing at least 17 people and injuring about 100 in a grim reminder of 2008 Mumbai attack. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said at least 17 people were killed and 81 injured in the coordinated attack at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar. The blast at Opera House was the "most powerful", he said. The explosions, which ripped through the country's financial capital, went off just few minutes apart between
6:45 and 7 pm. "Therefore, we infer this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram told reporters in New Delhi, adding that the death toll could go up.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were used to trigger the blasts which coincided with the birthday of Ajmal Kasab,
the lone Pakistani gunman in the 2008 Mumbai attack, sentenced to death. 166 people were killed in the Mumbai carnage.
No group claimed responsibility but Mumbai police suspects the hand of Indian Mujahideen(IM). Chavan declined to
speculate on who could be behind the attack.
Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said the blasts at Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar were of a higher intensity than the one at Dadar.
"It is a terror act. Quite obvious that some terror element is involved in the attack. Zaveri Bazaar blast exploded with use of IED kept in an abandoned umbrella. All three blasts occurred between 6.50 and 7 pm," Patnaik said.
He said the NSG hub in Mumbai has been put on standby and that the elite force's 'post-blast' team has also been
sent to the financial capital of the country.
The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team from both here and Hyderabad has been sent to Mumbai, he said. An NIA team led by an IG rank officer will also leave for Mumbai, he said.
Fire brigade and Mumbai police are carrying out rescue operations. Teams of state forensic science laboratory are at the spot.
Team from NSG’s National Bomb Data Centre to reach the spots by midnight from Manesar, Haryana. The blasts happened two days after the fifth anniversary of the July 11, 2006 serial train blasts and a day after the anti terrorism squad declared arrest of two top Indian Mujahideen operatives. Preliminary reports point to Indian Mujahideen imprint. Investigators say the intention of triggering the explosions was more to spread panic rather than kill people.
The first explosion took place in south Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, near the famous Mumbadevi temple, in which some people were injured, said Mumbai Police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli. The bustling market also has a number of jewellery shops.
The second explosion was reported in a taxi in Dadar area.
(PTI + Agencies)
source: hindustantimes.com
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