NEW DELHI: A boy was killed and more than 20 people were wounded when a low-intensity explosion rocked a crowded flower market in South Delhi’s Mehrauli area yesterday afternoon. Two young motorcyclists planted the bomb, according to eyewitnesses, at about 2:15 IST. The government described it as an “act of terror.”
Witness Raj Singh Daswal said he saw two men on a motorcycle drop a black plastic bag that was picked up by a boy.
“He ran after the men telling them ‘uncle, uncle you dropped something’,” Daswal told Reuters. “Immediately after, there was a huge explosion. The boy’s head was blown off.” The bomb left a crater on the road. Police cordoned off the blast site to keep away a crowd of hundreds of people. Many, including wailing women, tried to break through the cordon.
The site of the explosion is close to Delhi’s historical monument Qutub Minar. Preliminary reports suggested it was a low-intensity blast, according to police. The fire brigade and ambulances rushed immediately to the site and the injured were taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital, police said. As panic spread in the area, shopkeepers downed shutters. The market was closed and the area cordoned off. Delhi was immediately put on high alert.
In a related development, Faridabad police claimed they had received information regarding a possible blast in the capital. The Delhi Police, however, denied having received any such information. People in the area voiced anger at the lax security arrangements, despite the city’s having been hit by serial blasts a fortnight ago. They also blamed the police for being slow in reaching the blast site. “The public rushed the injured to AIIMS, rather than the police,” an eyewitness said. “My brother took five people to the hospital,” another person at the scene said.
Condemning the blasts, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: “This is a war against India and the government of India should deal firmly with terrorists.”
Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said there was no clue about who could be behind the blast. “Senior police officers are looking into the matter and conducting the investigation, but we have absolutely no clue as yet,” Gupta told reporters when asked who could be behind the blast or what material was used. Asked repeatedly about the nature of the blast and the material used in it, he said, “I would request you not to speculate as I am also not going to speculate. It will not be in the public interest to conduct the investigation in public domain.”
Home Minister Shivraj Patil immediately convened a meeting of senior security officials while an emergency meeting was also held at the residence of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“The government will have to take stern measures to put an end to this type of activities and acts of terror,” Foreign Mukherjee told reporters.
Congress party President Sonia Gandhi expressed her deep shock and concern at the blast. “I condemn this blast in the strongest terms,” Gandhi said.
— With input from agencies
