HYDERABAD: Multiple bomb blasts took place in a busy commercial area in Hyderabad, India on Thursday. At least 11 people were killed and over 50 sustained injuries in the attack.
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8:20pm
“We had intelligence reports that there will be blasts anywhere in the state. We try that such incidents do not happen,” Minister for State for Home Affairs said.
“Once we gather all evidence then we can make a statement. We cannot make another statement till there is an inquiry made in the matter.”
A Times of India photo showing the blast site.
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8:18pm
Police official Anurag Sharma said that 11 casualties are confirmed with 23 people injured. He added that post-blast investigation team of NSG and NI are on their way. “Our men are here to control the situation.”
A lot of onlookers are gathered at the site.
Manmohan Singh has strongly condemned the attack and said that the culprits will not go unpunished.
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8:14pm
India home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that he had talked to the chief minister and to his secretary RK Singh and confirmed three blasts.
“Two blasts in Hyderabad near Dilsukhnagar. I have talked to chief minister who said that two blasts in one location where eight people died and a second blast at a second location – where three have died,” he said.
“We had information about attacks for two days. But immediately we cannot say anything about it,” he added.
The nature of the blasts was such that the death toll could rise.
There are reports of an unexploded device found at Dilsukh Nagar, Times of India reports.
In 2007, twin blasts in the city killed 40 people.
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8:05pm
All major Indian cities have now been put on high alert, NDTV reports.
The first explosion happened at 7:01pm, the second five minutes later at 7:06pm and the third a little later.
“Collecting and keeping evidence safe and secure at this time would be extremely difficult,” NDTV reports.
It was a planned terrorist attack in which bombs were planted on cycles, NDTV reports.
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8:00pm
An investigation team of the National Security Guard will depart from Delhi in a short while for Hyderabad, Home Secretary RK Singh said.
Venkiah Naidu, the spokesman for the Bharatya Janata Party has asked the people of Hyderabad to remain calm and to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and local government, NDTV reported.
Naidu said that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was responsible for these blasts and wanted to take revenge for the recent hanging of Afzal Guru.
The Indian government officials are saying that two blasts have been reported to them by the National Investigations Agency (NIA), according to NDTV.
However, the NDTV is itself reporting about three blasts.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is now at the site.
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7:55pm
The police and officials of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) will arrive at the site shortly, NDTV reported.
Security official are facing difficulties clearing the packed area which has a maze of narrow lanes.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has also taken notice of the bombings and will be visiting the affected areas shortly.
“I can confirm that 12 people have lost their lives and at least 52 people have been injured,” Amit Garg, a senior police officer at the scene of one of the explosions, told AFP.
“These were three separate bomb blasts in (the Hyderabad suburb of) Dilsukh Nagar,” said Garg.
The Dilsukhnagar area is a large fruits and grocery market which is densely crowded at tis time of the evening, NDTV said.
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7:50pm
There is huge amount of black smoke in the sky over the area, NDTV reported.
One bomb was placed on a cycle and another on a motorbike, Hyderabad MP Akbaduddin Owaisi tells TV channels.
The blasts took place near a popular cinema, an elevated pedestrian bridge and a bus stand in Dilsukhnagar.
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7:47pm
Investigators and senior police would soon be visiting the site, home secretary RK Singh says.
Mobile phone networks have been jammed in and around Dilsukhnagar.
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7:43pm
There have been three blasts and seven people are dead and 47 people have been rushed to hospital with injuries,” an official in the police control room told AFP, adding that one of the explosions occurred in a small suburban eatery.
Chief Minister Kiran Kumar has called for an emergency meeting after reports of the blasts.
Preliminary reports suggest that this was bomb timed to timers and not through other means of detonation.
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7:40pm
Sources in Indian Home Ministry say it was a well-planned terrorist attack.
More than 50 people have been shifted to hospitals.
The blasts have caused a traffic jam in the area.
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7:30pm
Three blasts have been confirmed in Hyderabad.
Police have cleared the area.
Other Indian states have also been put on alert.
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7:25pm
Injured have been shifted to local hospitals.
Death toll from the explosion has reached 15.
The area is predominantly occupied by the Hindu community.
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