MHA confirms Bangalore blast as terror strike

, April 17: A bomb blast took place just a few metres away from the

headquarters at

here at 10.45 am on Wednesday. Thirteen people were injured in the incident, including eight policemen. No death occurred. The condition of two people were serious. The injured were admitted to hospital. [Read:

2.30 pm
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde spoke on the Bangalore blast in Kolkata on Wednesday. He said he had already constituted a probe into the Bangalore blast.

2.13 pm

The Congress-led UPA distanced itself from Shakeel Ahmed's remark that the blast would help the BJP's cause in the upcoming Karnataka polls.

2.06 pm

An NSG team is set to leave for Bangalore.

1.54 pm

1.47 pm

NIA and sleuths were probing the blast site. Karnataka has been put on high alert.

1.45 pm

Bangalore Police was alerted about possible disruptive activities a couple of days ago. On Tuesday, Bangalore hosted an IPL match and the security was expected to be high with elections around the corner.

1.40 am

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi condemned the blast.

1.38 pm

The Ind-Suzuki motorcycle in which the explosive (500 grams) was placed had a Tamil Nadu registration number and was parked there since yesterday, sources said. The explosion was carried out with a timer, it was learnt. The two-wheeler was a stolen one, reports said.

1.36 pm

Senior BJP leader Vankaiah Naidu condemned the incident and hoped that the Centre and the government of Karnataka probed the incident in proper coordination. He said they would wait for the outcome of the probe.

Earlier BJP President Rajanth Singh said the BJP never politicised terror activities. He said he had spoken to Shettar and ensured that everything was okay.

1.23 pm

All people injured in the blast are out of danger, say reports.

1.15 pm

Reports confirmed that IED was used to trigger the Malleshwaram blast in Bangalore on Wednesday morning.

1.10 pm

R Ashoka, Karnataka deputy chief minister and home minister said the BJP will not be deterred by such cowardly acts. He said it was clearly an act of terror.

A female victim admitted in the hospital said she fell down after hearing a massive explosion and seeing fire. "I don't remember anything after that," she said.

Meanwhile, officials said none of the vehicles that were present at that Bangalore blast site had a LPG kit.

Karnataka Police DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau said the motorcycle and a van were damaged the most in the blast.

12.51 pm

Shakeel Ahmed's tweet was termed insensitive by the Twitterati. Some criticised Ahmed for politicising the blast.

12.48 pm

IED was used in the blast, said TV news sources. It was a low-intensity blast, added reports.

12.44 pm

Home Secretary RPN Singh appealed for peace and calm. Police said the nature of the injuries in the blast were not very serious and the injured were undergoing treatment at KC Hospital. Singh said the Karnataka Police will be given all possible help in probing the incident.

12.33 pm

Police were suspecting whether the blast targetted at the BJP office. The entire area has been cordoned off. The toll of injured touches 16.

12.23 pm

The injured in the blast included a CRPF jawan and a 18-year-old PU student who was on her way to the tutorial. They were being treated at KC Hospital in Malleshwaram. Two teenage girls were among the injured.

12.13 pm

An NIA team was rushed to the blast spot. Although initially it was said that the NIA's assistance would not be required to probe the case. A forensic team had also reached the spot to probe the incident. The bomb squad was also expected to arrive at the spot.

12.09 pm

BJP spokesperson Ashwatnarayana said they had come out in the street after hearing a huge blast. "We had first thought it to be a transformer blast," he said.

"Thanks to good old trees on Bevinamarada Raste the damage is minimal," the BJP man told OneIndia News.

If the blast near BJP's office in Banglore is a terror attack,it will certainly help the BJP politically on the eve of election.

— Shakeel Ahmad (@Ahmad_Shakeel) April 17, 2013

BJP leader Balbir Punj had said earlier that he hoped that it was not a terror attack.

11.45 am

Commissioner of Police Raghavendra Auradkar said the explosion was caused by a motorcycle bomb. The police said the explosives were placed on the motorcycle. The police, however, said there was no need to seek NIA help in the probe at the moment.

11.30 am

Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said it was too early to make any statement on whether it was a terror attack. He said the officials were investigatiing it thoroughly.

OneIndia News