50 killed, 70 injured as serial blasts rock Delhi
NEW DELHI, OCT 29 (PTI)
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=332102
Terrorists struck in the Capital in a big way on the eve of Diwali today triggering three explosions in two markets and near a bus killing 50 people and injuring over 70 others, including some foreigners.
The first explosion took place at around 5:40 pm in the busy Paharganj market in central Delhi in which 11 people died and 60 were injured. The market, which is frequented by foreigners, was bustling with Diwali shoppers.
Minutes later another explosion rocked Sarojini Nagar market in south Delhi where the maximum casualties were reported.
Another blast took place adjacent to a bus 10 kms further south in Govindpuri area.
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said 37 bodies were in Safdarjang Hospital while Union Health Secretary P K Hota said seven bodies were brought to Lady Hardinge hospital, four to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and two to AIIMS.
Expressing shock and distress over the blasts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that the government was determined to defeat nefarious designs of terrorist elements. Declaring that perpetrators of these heinous acts would be dealt with firmly, he urged the people to remain calm.
Although Patil said it was too early to say who was behind the blasts, security agencies were not ruling out the involvement of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Immediately after the explosions, a red alert was sounded in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as also Mumbai and Kolkata.
The injured were admitted to various hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjang, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lady Hardinge. Doctors in these hospitals were asked to report on duty. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Home Minister and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit visited the injured at hospitals.
A meeting of the Crisis Management Group of the Central Government assessed the situation.
Delhi Police chief K K Paul said that the explosive, which went off in Paharganj was planted either in a motorcycle or a rickshaw.
An alert was sounded throughout the capital and security was beefed up.
Paul said unclaimed objects lying anywhere should not be touched and information about these should be passed on to the police immediately.
The public has also been asked to inform the police about any suspicious persons moving in their neighbourhood in the recent days or any other suspicious movement they might have seen.