3 killed, 25 injured in serial blasts in UP cities: Patil

New Delhi, Nov 23 (UNI) Home Minister Shivraj Patil today informed the Lok Sabha that serial blasts rocked three Uttar Pradesh cities and agreed to make a comprehensive statement in the Lower House next week, covering all aspects of the blasts that took place during the past two years in the country.

The Home Minister's statement came on the intervention of the Leader of Opposition in the House L K Advani, who remarked that today's blasts clearly indicated the failure of intelligence as it takes considerable time to arrange logistics for carrying out such deadly attacks.

The BJP leader said terrorist outfits were spread throughout the country and their subversive acts had to be pre-empted with intelligence inputs and alertness.

He said the trend of serial blasts began with 1993 blasts in Mumbai and was repeated at various places. Similar attacks again rocked the megapolis last year with a series of explosions ripping through the sub-urban trains.

Asserting the need for more preparedness to tackle such terrorist activities, Mr Advani said ''The government should also let the countrymen know about what steps it had taken to check such activities and its firm conviction to end the terrorist menace.'' Referring to today's violent incidents in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi, Mr Patil informed the House that at least three people were killed and over 25 injured in the blasts that took place near district court in the three cities this afternoon.

He said as per preliminary reports, a total of six explosions were triggered at three sites, adjacent to cycle stands and electric sub-stations in the court complexes.

The explosions were of low intensity in Lucknow, where no casualty has been reported while those carried out in Varanasi and Faizabad were of high intensity, Mr Patil added.

In Varanasi, one person was killed and ten inuured while in Faizabad two people were killed and 15 injured in the blasts, the Home Minister said.

He said three explosions occurred between 1300 to 1325 hrs.

UNI