One dead as seven blasts rock Bangalore; high alert in state

Bangalore/New Delhi Jul 25 (UNI) Sending shockwaves across the country's IT capital, seven successive blasts rocked the city this afternoon, killing a woman on the spot and leaving at least four people injured.

Police said a woman was killed in the first blast, reported in Madiwala junction, at around 1340 hrs. Shree Ravi, who was waiting for a bus, was killed on the spot while her husband and son were injured.

In a space of five minutes, another blast was triggered near a drain in Adugodi in which one person was seriously injured.

This was followed by blasts in places near Mallya Hospital, R V College, Pantherapallya near Nayandahalli on the Bangalore-Mysore highway and Langford Road.

The blast at Langford road left one injured.

City Police Commissioner Shankar M Bidari told newspersons that improvised explosive devices were used in the blasts which occurred on footpaths and improvised detonators and mobile phones were used to trigger the explosions. He said the explosives used in two places -- Madiwala and Nayandahalli -- were powerful in nature, while crude devices were used in other areas.

He said police recovered explosive material at the park in Rajaram Mohan Roy road, including sulphuric acid and urea stacked in a pack. ''The materials recovered, however, were not bombs but supportive materials that could have been utilised in making bombs,'' he said.

A senior police office, who did not want to be named, said the blasts could be the handiwork of Maoist groups who were known to produce such explosives made from locally available materials.

Forensic experts and bomb disposal squads were rushed to the spot immediately and the areas were cordoned off by the police.

A high alert has been sounded across the state. A red alert has also been sounded in several states including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa.

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