(Rptg correcting slug)

Hubli, May 10 (UNI) A blast, triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device, today rocked the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court here, where suspected SIMI activists were being tried., Police said the IED was planted very near to the witness box in the court hall. Nobody was injured in the incident. However, the furniture in the court hall was blown to smithereens.

The court was closed as it is a second Saturday.

Following the blast, the police launched a search operation in the city for more such devices, if any.

Talking to newspersons at the explosion site, Commissioner of Police Narayan Nadamani did not rule out the involvement of terror outfits in the blast.

''It could be the handiwork of terrorists or anti national elements. Explosive experts from Bangalore had been summoned and an inquiry will be held into the incident,'' he said.

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