Bangalore blast: Fourth terror attack since 2005

Bangalore, April 17: The blast near the BJP office in Bangalore Wednesday is the fourth terror strike in the Karnataka capital, home to renowned educational institutions and global information technology firms.

The blast, which left 16 people injured -- two seriously, took place exactly three years after the twin explosions at Chinnaswamy Stadium in the city centre, ahead of an Indian Premier League T20 cricket match, which left 15 injured.

The first terror attack in Bangalore was at the famous Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on the evening of Dec 28, 2005, when delegates coming out of an international conference were fired on, leading to the death of MC Puri, a retired professor of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi. Four people were injured in that attack.

The IISc is about five km from Wednesday's blast site in Malleshwaram, a residential locality in north Bangalore.

Six people, suspected to be members of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Bangalore court for the 2005 attack.

In the second terror attack in the city on July 25, 2008, one person was killed and six people were injured when a series of bombs fitted with timer devices went off in a span of 45 minutes in central, east and west Bangalore.

Around 30 people are facing trial for this attack.

The most prominent among them is Kerala-based People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nasir Maudany, who has been in a Bangalore jail for several months now.

The third terror strike was at Chinnaswamy Stadium, where two low-intensity bombs went off, about an hour before the start of the Royal Challengers Bangalore-Mumbai Indians match of April 17, 2010, injuring 15 people and delaying the match by an hour.

The explosions damaged the boundary wall of the stadium.

The next day, an explosive device was found near Gate No.1, generally used by the players and VIPs to enter and exit the stadium.

So far, seven people have been arrested in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts, including Fasih Mohammed, who was detained in Saudi Arabia, and recently deported.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

An image, taken with a mobile phone, shows a vehicle in flames after a blast near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

An image, taken with a mobile phone, shows a vehicle in flames after a blast near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

Police personnel inspect the site of the blast near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

An injured girl is treated at a hospital after an explosion near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

Security personnel stand guard at a residential neighborhood near the office of Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengaluru on Wednesday after a powerful bomb explosion.

Fourth terror attack since 2005

An injured is treated at a hospital after a blast near the BJP office at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

IANS