Four injured in underground explosion

Kolkata, Jan 16 (UNI)Altogether four persons, including a woman, were injured when an underground explosion rocked the posh Theatre Road area in the city during peak office hours this morning.

The explosion that took place in front of Nagaland House and Hindusthan Lever building was so severe that a railing on the pavement was uprooted and glass panes of the adjacent building shattered under its impact.

Police here said that the injured were pedestrians. The condition of one of them in hospital was stated to be serious.

A large contingent of police has rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area, while sniffer dogs have been brought in to detect the existence of any explosive.

However, City Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, who visited the area, said the explosion was possibly caused by a short circuit in the underground cable lines.

''In all probability, it was an explosion in the underground cable lines, which may have been triggered by a short circuit. But, there is nothing to worry about,'' he told UNI.

DC DD1 Javed Shamim also said, ''So far no explosives have been detected by the sniffer dogs, though forensic experts were being broght in for a detailed investigation.'' The incident before the Republic Day, however, kept city police on their toes, while people ran in panic and shopkeepers kept shutters down for sometime today.

UNI KDG LL /src/KLC1301