Security stepped up after Jaipur serial blasts

New Delhi/Varanasi/Ahmedabad, May 14 : Security across the country has been beefed up after eight serial blasts rock Jaipur, claiming the lives of 70 people and injuring over 200 others.

In New Delhi, police jeeps and vans were seen patrolling during the early morning hours.

Madhukar Gupta, Central Home Secretary said that investigations are being carried out to crack the case and punish the culprits.

"We are going to find out what kind of explosives and what kind of devices these are? The teams are going to investigate all this. Our priority apart from vigilance and alert generally would be to get to the bottom of this and try to get hold of the people who are responsible for this," said Gupta.

In Varansi also, security has been beefed up around temples.

"After the blast at Hanuman temple in Jaipur, we were really scared. But, now the security is very tight here.," said Ramesh, a devotee.

People in Ahmedabad participated in a mass peace prayer for peace in the entire country.

Curfew has been imposed in 15 to 16 police station areas of Jaipur. The curfew has been imposed between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Schools and offices have been closed for the day.

A shutdown has been called across Rajasthan in protest against the blasts which took place at Manas Chowk, Johari Bazar, Tripolia Bazar, Badi Choupal, Choti Choupal, Kotwali areas of Jaipur's Walled City.

The banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI), which operates from Bangladesh, is believed to be behind the blasts, which took place at intervals spread over 15 minutes.

ANI