Zeenews Bureau
Jaipur, May 13: At least 70 persons have reportedly been killed and over 200 injured in 9 blasts that rocked Jaipur at around 7.40 pm on Tuesday. All blasts took place in densely populated areas, lying within a radius of 1 km of each other. Banned HuJI outfit is believed to be behind the serial blasts.
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The blasts took place in Tripolia Bazar where a Hanuman temple drew a large number of devotees today. Manas Chowk, Badi Choupal, Choti Choupal and Johari Bazar are other places where the blasts occurred.
The blasts took place within a span of 15 minutes, from 7.15pm. The blasts set off panic and near-stampede situation at all the five congested localities. One of the blasts took place in a car and another near a handloom shop in Kotwali area of the walled city, Home Department sources said.
The wounded have been ferried to nearby hospitals including Savai Madho Singh Hospital.
Sources ruled out the use of RDX in the carefully
orchestrated low-intensity explosions which were suspected to
have been set off from cycles in areas including near Hawa
Mahal which are frequented by domestic and foreign tourists.
Police said one explosive was defused by bomb disposal
squad near the Hanuman temple. It was a timebomb.
Rajasthan Director General of Police A S Gill said it was "obviously a terror attack." “The Jaipur blast cannot be connected with the Ajmer Sharif blast,” the DGP said.
He also said that the intelligence agencies were caught off guard as no alerts were released to the state government. However Home Ministry sources said feelers had been sent about sleeper cells in Rajasthan to the state agencies.
HuJI hand suspected
Though baffled by the attack as Jaipur was not on the terror radar, sources said the tell-tale signs of the blasts indicate HuJI's hand.
The blasts showed that HuJI, which is being mainly run from Bangladesh, has managed to establish cells in Rajasthan and that the outfit was responsible for previous major terror attacks including the New Year eve attack on CRPF camp in Rampur and serial blasts in three other places in Uttar Pradesh.
The last terror strike in Rajasthan occurred on October 11, 2007 when an explosion in the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer left two persons dead and 17 others injured.
HuJI outfit, suspected to be behind the blast at the sufi shrine, had used a mixture of Tri-Nitro Toluene (TNT) as the explosive material.
In today's blasts also, pieces of iron pipe were used by militants as splinters that pierced through victims at the crowded places in the Pink city.
The reported use of newly purchased cycles in 4 blasts has an eerie similarity to the Uttar Pradesh blasts in which HuJI hand was found.
Preliminary investigations revealed that cycle
ballbearings were used in the explosions to inflict shrapnel
injuries on the victims.
The sources did not rule out the possibility that banned HuJI may have been supported by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) which has been attempting to target tourist destinations and places of economic interests.
Speaking to Zee News, the IG of Jaipur range Pankag Kapoor confirmed the blasts and said that the injured have been rushed to Sawai Man Singh hospital. The police has appealed to people to remain calm.
High alert has been declared in all major cities. Bomb disposal squads have reached the spot to and have reportedly diffused one live bomb. They are also searching for forensic clues to ascertain the materials used in the blasts.
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary has spoken to Rajasthan Chief Minister about the incident and conveyed Centre's availability for every kind of assistance.
The Union Home Ministry reviewed the situation. The bomb
blasts came eight months after terrorists struck at Ajmer
which two persons were killed.
Doctors said many of the victims had shrapnel injuries.
They feared that the toll may go up further. The authorities have also appealed for blood donation.
IPL chief Lalit Modi said a league match scheduled
to be played in Jaipur on Saturday will go on as planned.
Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed in
Jaipur to help deal with the situation as security was beefed
up.
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary has spoken to Rajasthan Chief Minister about the incident and conveyed Centre's availability for every kind of assistance.
The Prime Minister has condemned the blasts and appealed for calm. He also spoke to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and spoke all support.
Home Ministry advisories
The Home Ministry issued
advisories to states to be extra vigilant regarding security
in crowded places following the serial blasts in Jaipur.
The ministry has directed the states to take adequate
measures so that anti-social elements do not take advantage of
the situation.