Sniffer dogs at the site of a blast in Church Street in Bengaluru on Sunday night (Press Trust of India photo)
A woman died and three others were injured in a blast outside a popular restaurant in the Church Street area in the heart of Bengaluru on Sunday. Karnataka Home Minister KJ George told NDTV that the explosion was a terror attack, although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
Here are the latest developments:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country's top counter-terrorism arm, will investigate the low-intensity blast which occurred just after 8:30 pm outside the Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Street off MG Road, which was packed with Sunday evening crowds.
Police said the improvised explosive device - which used ammonium nitrate and was fitted with a timer device - had reportedly been placed in a drain on the roadside.
"We have stepped up our vigil and intensified patrolling across the city to prevent further incidents in view of the New Year's Eve festivities," Bangalore Police Commissioner MN Reddi told reporters.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted to say he had spoken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and that Centre was "ready to provide all help".
Mr Siddaramaiah, who visited the blast site last evening, has called a high-level meeting today. "Police were on high alert. Inspite of this, it has happened," he said on Sunday.
The victim, 38-year-old Bhavani - a resident of Tamil Nadu - was walking past the restaurant when she suffered shrapnel injuries to her head and neck after the bomb went off. She died soon after being taken to the hospital. Her relative, Karthik, suffered minor injuries but is condition is stable now. Two others - Vinay and Sandeep - are undergoing
treatment at HOSMAT hospital.
The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of the woman who was killed in explosion.
The police, which has requested for calm, said the situation was under control. Additional police forces have been mobilised in the city, where the threat perception had been high in view of the year-end festivities.
Over the years, Bengaluru has been subject to several blasts, the worst being the serial explosions in 2008 in which one person died and 20 were injured. The last attack took place in November 2013 outside the state BJP office, in which 16 people were injured.
Bengaluru, which was formerly known as Bangalore, has been on a general alert since police last month picked up a young engineer, Mehdi Masroor Biswas, for allegedly running a pro-Islamic State Twitter account, @ShamiWitness, that had tens of thousands of followers worldwide.
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