Hyderabad blast: 14 dead, 75 injured; Shinde visits site

8:12 am: While the death toll has climbed to 14, more than 75 people have been injured in the twin blasts in Hyderabad.

8:00 am: The death toll in Hyderabad blasts has reached 14 and authorities further it may rise further. 57 others have been injured in the blasts. Of the 14 dead, 12 bodies have been identified and handed over after post-mortem. Two bodies are yet to be identified. 

The injured are now at the Osmania, Yashoda, Omni, and Kamineni hospitals. The police have set up helpline numbers and have urged citizens to remain vigilant.

Investigations are on in full flow with NIA and Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (Octopus) teams at the blast sites. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy convened a law and order meet at 12:30 am on Thursday night. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Union Home Secretary RK Singh are at the blasts site. Meanwhile, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has cancelled his padyatra.

7:30 am: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has left for Hyderabad and will visit the blast sites in Dilsukh Nagar. Twelve people have died and over 55 were injured in two blasts on Thursday and officials fear the death toll could rise. Both the blasts took place in crowded market areas and an NIA team is reaching the city to take over investigations.

The blasts were reportedly carried out using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and aimed at causing maximum damage, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) V Dinesh Reddy said. The two explosions took place near Venkatadri and Konark movie theatres in one of the most crowded areas of the Andhra Pradesh capital. According to the police one bomb may have been placed on a cycle and the other was put inside a tiffin box.

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the government received an attack alert two days ago, but there was no specific information. However, a police interrogation report, accessed by CNN-IBN said specific information was provided during the interrogation of a suspected Indian Mujahideen operative.

In the interrogation by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, which took place in October 2012, the Indian Mujahideen suspect had confessed doing reconnaissance of three areas, including Dilsukh Nagar, in Hyderabad. However, it is not known if the specific bit of information was passed on the Hyderabad police.

"IEDs were used in the two bomb blasts which were acts of terror and were aimed at causing maximum damage," said the Andhra Pradesh DGP. The seriously injured would be shifted to corporate super-speciality hospitals in the city for better treatment if needed, he said. Noting that the entire area has been sanitised after the blast, he appealed to the people not to panic and believe in rumours.

Meanwhile, personnel of National Investigation Agency (NIA), stationed in Hyderabad, visited the scene and picked up clues from burnt two-wheelers.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar, who visited the site shortly after the blasts, termed them as shocking. "What happened in Hyderabad is shocking...innocent people have been killed...the state government has reacted swiftly," he said. The Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs 6 lakh each for the families of those killed in the blast, and assured that the government would bear the expense of the treatment of those who got injured. He termed the Hyderabad blasts as "an act of the coward", asserting that those responsible would soon be brought to book.

Referring to the serial blasts, Union Home Secretary RK Singh said IG NIA and probe team of NSG had been flown from Delhi by a special BSF plane. He said that high alert had been issued in Delhi, Mumbai and several other states, but maintained that there was no information on who carried out the explosions.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also condemned the blasts. The Prime Minister also sanctioned Rs 2 lakh each to the families of those killed in the incident, and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured. The Prime Minister also directed the central agencies to extend all possible help to the Andhra Pradesh state authorities in relief operations. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also condemned the blasts and expressed her sorrow.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh termed the blasts as most unfortunate and expressed his grief for those who lost their lives and their loved ones in the terror attack. Expressing confidence into the government for providing all assistance to those hit by the terror attack, the BJP president said that a thorough inquiry should be conducted into the blasts. Former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu said that the blasts were unfortunate and condemnable.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader Kiran Rao said the situation in the Andhra Pradesh capital was very chaotic. "This is not a time to have political divisions...this is an attack on our country and democracy, we all are together," said Kiran Rao.

The United States also strongly condemned the blasts and offered assistance in investigation if requested by the Indian government. "We condemn the cowardly attack in Hyderabad, India, in the strongest possible terms, and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected and to the people of India," the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference.

Dilsukh Nagar, the area were the incident took place is a crowded area in Hyderabad, and one of the main commercial areas of the city. Gaddianaram market in Dilsukh Nagar is the biggest in Andhra Pradesh. The blast took place near the main bus stand near Hyderabad-Mumbai highway.

Helpline: 040-23235643, 040-27854771

Previous instances of blasts in Hyderabad:

2002: 2 killed in blast at Sai Baba Temple, Dilsukh Nagar

May 18, 2007: 14 killed in blast at Mecca Masjid

August 25,2007: 42 killed in two blasts at Gokul Chat shop

August 26, 2007: Police find 19 unexploded blasts

सिलसिलेवार धमाकों से दहला हैदराबाद, 22 की मौत l

हैदराबाद के दिलसुखनगर में 2 सिलेसिलेवार धमाके हुए हैं. जानकारी के मुताबिक इन धमाकों में 22 लोगों की मौत हो गई है. वहीं 20 लोग घायल हो गए हैं. अबतक दो धमाकों में 12 लोगों की मौत की पुष्टि हो चुकी है जबकि करीब 60 लोग घायल हैं. धमाकों के बाद भगदड़ भी मच गई.

खुफिया विभाग के सूत्रों के अनुसार किसी भी संभावना से इनकार नहीं किया जा सकता है क्‍योंकि दो जगहों पर लगभग एक ही समय में धमाके हुए हैं. वहीं एनआईए के सूत्रों के केवल 3 धमाकों की खबर है. एक धमाका सिनेमाहॉल के पास हुआ जबकि दूसरा एक बस स्‍टॉप के पास. एक धमाके की खबर है लेकिन उसकी पुष्टि नहीं हो सकी है.

धमाकों के बाद बम निरोधक दस्ता मौके पर पहुंच चुका है और पूरे इलाके में रेड अलर्ट जारी कर दिया गया है तथा सुरक्षा बढ़ा दी गई है. बम धमाके को लेकर गृह मंत्रालय राज्य के संपर्क में है. इन धमाकों के बाद दिल्ली, मुंबई समेत तमाम शहरों में हाई एलर्ट घोषित कर दिया गया है.

एक प्रत्यक्षदर्शी ने बताया कि शहर के दक्षिणी हिस्से में स्थित व्यस्त व्यावसायिक बाजार दिलसुखनगर में दो सिनेमा घरों के पास बम विस्फोट हुआ. प्रत्यक्षदर्शियों के मुताबिक कुछ ही मिनट के अंतराल पर उन्होंने दो जोरदार विस्फोटों की आवाज सुनी. पुलिस अभी तक न तो विस्फोट के कारणों के बारे में और न ही हताहतों की संख्या के बारे में कुछ बता रही है.

पहला धमाका शाम 7.01 बजे वेंकटाद्रि थिएटर के सामने स्थित एक टिफिन सेंटर में हुआ और दूसरा धमाका इसके कुछ ही सेकेंड के बाद कोणार्क थिएटर के समीप हुआ. दोनों सिनेमा घर महज 500 मीटर की दूरी पर स्थित हैं. घटनास्थल पर राहत एवं बचाव दल के साथ ही एम्बुलेंस को रवाना किया गया है. घायलों को मलकापेट के यशोदा अस्पताल और उस्मानिया अस्पताल में भर्ती कराया गया है.

घायलों को एंबुलेस के जरिए आसपास के अस्पतालों में पहुंचाया गया. पुलिस और बम निष्क्रिय करने वाले दस्ते तुरंत हरकत में आ गए और खोजबीन शुरू कर दी.

गृह मंत्री सुशील कुमार शिंदे ने नयी दिल्ली में बताया कि विस्फोटों में दस लोगों की मौत हुई है. नई दिल्ली में केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री सुशील कुमार शिंदे ने आनन-फानन में दिए गए अपने प्रेस वक्तव्य में कहा कि हमला होने की खुफिया जानकारी सरकार को थी और राज्यों को इस बारे में सतर्क कर दिया गया था.

शिंदे ने संवाददाताओं से कहा, 'सरकार को दो दिनों पहले ही हमला किए जाने की खुफिया सूचना मिली थी जिससे सभी राज्यों को अवगत करा दिया गया था.'

यह पूछे जाने पर कि सूचना के बावजूद हमला क्यों हुआ, इसका उन्होंने कोई स्पष्ट उत्तर नहीं दिया. उन्होंने कहा कि अभी जो प्रारंभिक सूचना हमारे पास है हम वही दे रहे हैं. जांच के बाद ही स्थिति स्पष्ट हो पाएगी. उन्होंने कहा कि गुरुवार सुबह को भी राज्यों के अधिकारियों को सचेत किया गया था.

हैदराबाद में आधिकारिक सूत्रों ने बताया कि हादसे में कम से कम 32 लोग घायल भी हुए हैं. 15 मिनट के भीतर एक के बाद एक हुए तीन धमाकों से इलाका दहल उठा. राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा गार्ड का दल हैदराबाद रवाना हो गया है.

पुलिस का कहना है कि बम शायद एक साइकिल में रखा गया था. केन्द्रीय गृह सचिव आर के सिंह ने बताया कि राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा गार्ड का एक दल सीमा सुरक्षा बल के एक विमान से हैदराबाद पहुंच रहा है. हैदराबाद में तैनात एनआईए का एक दल भी घटनास्थल पर भेजा गया है.

इससे पहले हैदराबाद पर 25 अगस्त 2007 को बड़ा हमला हुआ था, जब एक साथ दो बम धमाके हुए थे. पहला धमाका एक पार्क में और लगभग उसी समय दूसरा धमाका खाने पीने की एक दुकान में हुआ था.

Hyderabad blasts: 12 dead, 78 injured; Shinde says 'toll may rise'; PM vows punishment

At least 12 people were killed and 78 wounded when bombs ripped through crowded areas in Hyderabad on Thursday in what the prime minister called a "dastardly act". 

The bombs targeted the crowded place in a suburb of the city, a hub of India's information-technology industry has a large Muslim population, and came with the nation on alert after the recent hanging of Afzal Guru.

A senior police officer at the scene of one of the explosions, Amit Garg, put the number of wounded at 80.

Police said many of the injured were in critical condition in hospital.

"This is a dastardly act and the guilty will not go unpunished," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said of the attacks, the deadliest to hit India since 13 people died in a 2011 bombing outside the High Court in the capital New Delhi.

But Singh also appealed for "calm" in the aftermath of the Hyderabad blasts.

City police said there had been three explosions, but home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said he could only confirm two.

At least 11 people were killed and 50 injured in two near simultaneous blasts in Hyderabad and the death toll could go up, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said tonight.

Asked whether it was a terror attack, the minister said "it was too early to say anything and only an investigation will reveal it".

He said the two bombs were placed within a radius of 100 to 150 metres in Dilkhus nagar area in the Andhra Pradesh capital and placed in two bicycles.

"There were two blasts in Dilkhush nagar. I have spoken to the Chief Minister (Kiran Kumar Reddy) and he told me that the bombs were placed in two cycles and in one place eight people were killed and in other place three people were killed. 50 people were also injured," he told reporters here.

Asked whether the death told could go up, the Home Minister said "it is possible that death toll will rise".

He said authorities had received "intelligence inputs in the (recent) days about the possibility of attacks and this information was shared with other states".

Police said the blasts went off in quick succession.

Huge crowds gathered near the site of the explosions in the Hyderabad suburb of Dilsukh Nagar as police struggled to collect evidence.

"Ambulances have been rushed to the spot. Bodies have arrived and over 50 injured people have been brought to the spot," Kailash Nath, an officer at the Osmania General Hospital, said.

At the hospital, bloodied victims lay on stretchers as sobbing relatives pleaded for information about their loved ones.

Nath said that nine bodies had arrived at the hospital and 35 people were undergoing surgery.

The blasts came on the same day as Parliament opened for its key budget session, amid tensions following the hanging earlier this month of Afzal Guru.

PM says 'dastardly attack'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday decsribed the twin blasts in Hyderabad as an "dastardly attack" and said the guilty should not "go unpunished."

"This is a dastardly attack, the guilty will not go unpunished," a tweet from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) quoted Manmohan Singh as saying of of the two blasts that killed at least 10 people and injured 50.

The PMO also said that the prime minister "strongly condemned" the bomb blasts.

"I appeal to the public to remain calm and maintain peace."

"PM also directed the central agencies to extend all possible help to Andhra Pradesh state authorities in relief operations," the tweet said.

BJP condoles loss of lives

BJP President Rajnath Singh on Thursday condoled the lost of lives in Hyderabad blasts and demanded that the government conduct a thorough probe into the incident.

"I express my condolences to the family members of those killed in the blast. This is a condemnable incident. I hope the government will take appropriate action to provide immediate and adequate relief to those injured in the blast," Singh said.

Singh also demanded that a thorough probe be ordered to find out the culprits and bring them to book.

He also said government should take steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.

'NIA, NSG teams reached Hyderabad'

Elite teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the National Security Guard (NSG) will be flying to Hyderabad, which has been rocked by twin blasts that killed 10 people and injured 50, an official said.

"We have a news of two blasts. We have spoken to state chief secretary, DGP (director general of police) and governor (ESL Narasimhan)," home secretary RK Singh told reporters in New Delhi.

"Ten people have died and 50 have been injured in the blasts," he said.

He said the state police chief is reaching the blast site, which has been cordoned off.

"Our NIA team is also reaching as it has a hub there. The NIA officials are there at the site. Our IG NIA is also going from here. The post blast investigating team of NSG is also going," he told reporters,

The two teams will fly at 9.30 pm in a Border Security Force plane, he added.

The near-simultaneous blasts occurred near two theatres in Dilsukhnagar, a busy commercial area in the southern part of city, about 15 km from downtown.

Police have not yet confirmed either the cause of the explosions or the number of casualties.

The first blast occurred around 7 pm near a tiffin centre opposite Venkatadri Theatre and the second near Konark Theatre. Both the theatres are about 500 meters from each other.

High alert across Andhra Pradesh

Police sounded high alert in Hyderabad and other cities in Andhra Pradesh after two blasts killed over 10 people in Hyderabad and injured scores of others.

Police with dog squads began search operations in several busy market areas in Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad to foil any explosives.

Security was beefed up at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, state secretariat, Charminar and other vital installations, a police official said.

An alert was also sounded in coastal city of Visakhapatnam, temple town of Tirupati and other major towns across the state.


With inputs from PTI, AFP, IANS)

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People search for survivors of bomb blast at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad. PTI photo

Hyderabad blasts - LIVE: Three explosions rock Dilsukh Nagar area, 15 feared dead

Hyderabad: Three bomb blasts rocked the city of Hyderabad on Thursday evening with at least fifteen people feared dead in the explosions. 

The explosions are said to have occurred at Dilsukh Nagar area of the city near a bus stop. The blasts happened at three points - Anand Kishan Centre, Konark theater and Venkatadri movie theater. The blasts happened simultaneously at around 7pm. 

The first blast occurred at 7:01 pm. The second blast happened at 7:06 pm. 

The blasts have been said to have been caused by tiffin bombs. One bomb has been found to be un exploded near a foot bridge. 

As per reports more than 50 people have have been injured in the blasts and have been rushed to the nearby hospital. 

The locality is said to be very crowded and hosts a fruit market. This is the old area of the city. The place is said to have been filled with people at the time of blasts. 

The local ploice has reached the spot and prelimnary investigations are on. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy visited the spot to take stock of the situation. 

Around two days back an alert had been sounded by the intelligence agencies to various couple of states of impending blasts at various places. The matter had been discussed at the Union Cabinet's meet. 

The NI, NSG and IB team has been rushed to the spot. The state has been put on high alert. Alert has been sounded in Maharashtra and Karnataka too. 

Talking to reporters in the national capital Union Home Minsiter Sushilkumar Shinde said that he had apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the blasts in Hyderabad. However, he said, "Cannot speculate on the perpetrators of the blast." 

Union Home Secretary RK Singh also told reporters, "I have information about the blasts. The area has been cordoned off. Investigation has started." 

The city of Hyderabad has been rocked by blasts last in 2007 in which 42 people were dead. 

Hyderabad serial blasts: at least 15 dead, 50 injured

Hyderabad: At least 15 people have been killed and 50 injured in three blasts in a busy commercial area of Hyderabad this evening. (See first pictures)

Sources in the Home Ministry say the explosions in Dilsukhngar, which began just after 7 pm, appear to be a strike by "a well-trained" group which timed the explosions to cause the maximum damage.

The explosions took place at rush hour near the popular Konark cinema, an elevated bridge used by pedestrians, and a bus stand in Dilsukhnagar, which has a large fruit and vegetable market. The first explosion happened at 7.01 pm, the second five minutes later at 7.06 pm and the third a little later.

Officials were finding it tough to clear the packed area which has a maze of narrow lanes. Cellphone networks have been jammed in and around Dilsukhnagar to prevent false information from being disseminated.

Delhi and Mumbai have been put on high alert.

In 2007, twin blasts in the city killed 40 people.