New Delhi/ Mumbai/ Nashik: At least 37 people were killed and 56 were seriously injured when three bombs concealed on cycles went off near a mosque in Maharashtra’s Malegaon town when people were coming out after Friday afternoon prayers.
The blasts occurred near the Noorani Mosque in the Bada Kabristan area of the communally sensitive town just after Friday prayers.
Thousands of people were out on the streets on Friday for Shab-e-Barat, a festival during which people offer prayers to dead relatives.
The first blast occurred at 1345 hours IST and two more explosions follow in two minutes. Police suspect a timer device could have been used to trigger off the explosions.
A curfew was imposed in the textile town after the blasts. Maharashtra Police sounded a statewide alert and had mobile networks jammed in the town to prevent rumours.
"The situation in Malegaon is tense but under control," said Maharashtra Director General of Police P S Pasricha. ''The motive appears to be to create panic and make people fight with each other,” he said.
Stampede, crushed bodies
TV channels showed a stampede and people rushing out of a narrow gate of the mosque. Scores of people, children among them, were shown running over bodies and injured people.
The blast site was splattered with blood and limbs. Angry residents pelted stones on policemen and prevented them from reaching the blasts site while a mob of nearly 500 persons laid siege to a police station. A mob attacked Malegaon’s Superintendent of Police when a police team tried to enter the blast site. Police fired 10 rounds to disperse the mob.
"Whether any terror sleeper cells are involved in the blasts is being looked into. The region has become a hotbed for Islamist groups and is also very communally sensitive," a police official said.
CNN-IBN
The blasts occurred near the Noorani Mosque in the Bada Kabristan area of the communally sensitive town just after Friday prayers.
Thousands of people were out on the streets on Friday for Shab-e-Barat, a festival during which people offer prayers to dead relatives.
The first blast occurred at 1345 hours IST and two more explosions follow in two minutes. Police suspect a timer device could have been used to trigger off the explosions.
A curfew was imposed in the textile town after the blasts. Maharashtra Police sounded a statewide alert and had mobile networks jammed in the town to prevent rumours.
"The situation in Malegaon is tense but under control," said Maharashtra Director General of Police P S Pasricha. ''The motive appears to be to create panic and make people fight with each other,” he said.
Stampede, crushed bodies
TV channels showed a stampede and people rushing out of a narrow gate of the mosque. Scores of people, children among them, were shown running over bodies and injured people.
The blast site was splattered with blood and limbs. Angry residents pelted stones on policemen and prevented them from reaching the blasts site while a mob of nearly 500 persons laid siege to a police station. A mob attacked Malegaon’s Superintendent of Police when a police team tried to enter the blast site. Police fired 10 rounds to disperse the mob.
"Whether any terror sleeper cells are involved in the blasts is being looked into. The region has become a hotbed for Islamist groups and is also very communally sensitive," a police official said.
CNN-IBN