Sonia Gandhi condemns Bangalore blasts

New Delhi, July 25 : Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today condemned the serial blasts in Bangalore.

"This is a cowardly act and people who want to disturb the peace of the country are behind it," she said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the serial blasts and asked the people to remain calm and maintain communal harmony.

He announced Rs.One lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of each of the deceased. Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said the party president has also offered her condolences and sympathy for those killed and injured in the blast.

A string of nine bomb blasts one after another shook Karnataka's capital during the busy lunch hour today, leaving two killed and 20 injured.

The crude bombs, concealed near refugee camps and roadside stuffed with nuts and bolts, exploded between 1.30 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. at Adugodi, Madivala, Nayandahalli, Mysore Road, Richmond Circle, Pantharapalya and Vittal Mallya Road.

Two persons were killed and 12 injured in the blasts, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in New Delhi.

A woman waiting at a bus stop in Madivala on the Bangalore-Hosur Road was killed in the blast, while her husband and another person were seriously injured.

Four of the blasts were between Hosur Road and Madiwala; the other three at Nayandahalli, Vittal Mallya Road and Richmond Circle, City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari told reporters.

Except in two places, low intensity explosives were used for the blasts, which occurred within a few minutes of each other, he said.

Police have recovered gelatin sticks, mainly used in quarry operations, from one of the blast sites.

ANI