It was a grenade blast in Gujarat tourist bus: J

Srinagar, Aug 1 (UNI) It was a grenade blast in the bus in which seven people, including five tourists from Gujarat, were killed on Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir police spokesman said.

Ending the mystery about what actually caused the blast in the bus in which the tourists were killed outside the Mughal garden, Shalimar, on the bank of famed Dal Lake, he said after a forensic chemical investigation of the samples collected at the site, it was established that the grenade had exploded inside the bus.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had ordered an inquiry into the cause of the blast as there were conflicting reports about what actually caused the blast. Some reports said that an air-conditioner or a gas cylinder in the bus had exploded while others said it was an IED blast.

Spokesman said the investigations have revealed that the grenade was filled with shrapnels.

Such types of grenades had been recovered from militants of Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) recently, he said, adding further investigation was on.

Five tourists from Gujarat and two local girls were killed and 20 others were wounded in the blast.

The state government has already announced ex-gratia relief of Rs one lakh in favour of the next of kin of those killed.

The bodies of blast victims, injured and their family members were flown to Gujarat in special Indian Airforce planes on July 30.

UNI