Bengaluru: Terror revisited the city on Sunday evening on the busy Church Street in the Central Business District, when a low-intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring two men.
The city, which was bombarded with rumours of a possible terror attack after the arrest of alleged handler of ISIS’s Twitter account Mehdi Masroor Biswas, was shocked as the rumours came true. The police top brass are investigating into several theories about the attack and are trying to find out which terror outfit is behind the blast.
Read: Police officer receives threat message after arrest of IS tweeter Mehdi Masroor
The bomb, wrapped in a newspaper and covered with a lungi, was placed in between pots kept on the pavement attached to Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Street. It went off at 8.38 pm. Bhavani, who was around 32 years old and hailed from Chennai, was walking on the road with her family when the bomb went off. Two others, Sandeep (21) and Karthik (22), sustained minor injuries. Despite efforts by doctors to revive her, Bhavani succumbed at Mallya Hospital around 10.50 pm.
“The bomb had a timer set at 8.38 pm and there were traces of ammonium nitrate. It was packed with shrapnel,” a police source said. An eyewitness said that he was shook by the loud noise. “People started running after the blast, and I saw a woman lying in a pool of blood. We were not sure what was happening, but ran from the spot,” he said.
Read: Bengaluru blast: A fun trip turned tragic for Bhavani Devi
City Police Commissioner M. N. Reddi told reporters that no one has claimed the responsibility for the blast so far. “There is no need to panic. The city is on high alert and the police have beefed up security at all places with high footfall. The bomb was placed near the pots kept on the footpath. We have formed special teams to investigate the case,” he said.
The police cordoned off the spot and collected evidence. The sniffer dog and anti-sabotage squads rushed to the spot and searched for explosive substances in the area. The police sanitised the entire road and shifted all the vehicles parked in the locality.
DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachuau visited the spot and said the police had already launched probe into the incident. “We have stepped up security across the state and we request the public to not pay heed to rumours,” he said.
