80 killed, 200 injured in seven bomb blasts in Jaipur
Atleast 80 people were killed and 200 others were injured when seven powerful blasts ripped through crowded places of the pink city including the heavily guarded Hawa Mahal and Johri Bazar on Tuesday evening.
Jaipur: Atleast 80 people were killed and 200 others were injured when seven powerful blasts ripped through crowded places of the pink city including the heavily guarded Hawa Mahal and Johri Bazar on Tuesday evening. The wounded were rushed to Sawai Mansingh Hospital and Janana hospital of the city.The blasts rocked Tripolia Bazar, where large number of devotees turned up at a Hanuman temple, Johari Bazar, Manas Chowk, Badi Choupal and Choti Choupal - all located within two kilometre radius of the old city. According to the police, the first blast took place at 7:30 pm at Manas Chowk Police Station area.
Home Ministry officials said that the bombs were planted in bicycles and forensic teams were being dispatched to determine the nature of explosives. At least one explosive device was detected and defused, officials said. "Look, it is difficult to say what (explosive) was used but it could be RDX or even ammonium nitrate," said a ministry official.
The Home Ministry has sounded a nation-wide alert following the serial bomb blasts. The Centre has rushed bomb data squad of the elite National Security Guards and four companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) to Jaipur. No terrorist group has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts. However, Home Ministry sources believe the banned Bangladesh based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI) to be behind the serial blasts.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje rushed to Jaipur immediately in an Indian Air Force. Talking to reporters she said that such acts of terror will not be tolerated at all and the perpetrators will be punished. The CM has announced Rs 5 lakh each to nearest kin of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani condemned the blasts and appealed for calm. Home Minister Shivraj Patil cut short his two-day trip to the northeast and rushed to Jaipur in an Indian Air Force aircraft. Congress president Sonia Gandhi called the bombings a "crime against humanity". She appealed to the people to maintain harmony in this "grave" hour.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had spoken to Raje after the blasts on Tuesday night and had offered all support to the state government in dealing with the situation.
The international community including Pakistan has also condemned the serial blasts. In separate messages to their Indian counterparts, President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani condemned the blasts and sympathised with the Indian people.
Gillani was quoted by state-run television as saying that terrorism is a menace which needs concerted efforts to deal with. "I am saddened by the tragic incident and the loss of life, and pray for the fast recovery of the injured," he was quoted as saying in his message to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Condemning the serial bombings that rocked Jaipur, US Ambassador to India David C Mulford said there was "no justification" for strikes on "innocent people". In a statement released by the US embassy, Ambassador Mulford said that the United States condemns the vicious acts of terrorism in Jaipur this evening.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also strongly condemned the serial blasts in Jaipur. A state run news agency quoted UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as saying, "The UAE vehemently condemns the blasts in Jaipur and extends full support to India's efforts to fight terrorism."