Terror revisits Hyderabad, many killed

Hyderabad: Fifteen people were killed and more than 100 others injured when two blasts ripped through the densely populated Dilsukhnagar locality of Hyderabad on Thursday evening, leaving a trail of blood and shattering the tense calm of the past few months. The death toll is expected to go up as several people were seriously wounded. The bombs went off at two places about 150 metres apart, one opposite the busy Dilsukhnagar bus station and another outside a popular food vendor opposite Konark theatre. The bombs were suspected to contain high-intensity explosives packed into containers and hung from two cycles. It appeared the bombs were set off by timing devices. The National Investigation Agency has taken over the probe, DGP V. Dinesh Reddy said. The blasts — the fourth major attack on the city after the Lumbini Park-Gokul Chat attack of 2007, Macca Masjid blast of 2007 and Sai Baba temple explosion in the same Dilsukhnagar area in 2002 — come after months of minor violence in the old city that was capped by a slew of hate speeches, and less than a fortnight after the contentious hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. People had no time to react The twin blasts on Thursday were timed three minutes apart and the first one detonated at 7.01 pm — peak hour in the locality that is choca-bloc with small businesses. The close proximity of the blasts left no time for the people to react. Even as the smoke from the first blast had cleared, and witnesses saw bodies lying around amid a wreckage of parked vehicles, the second bomb went off, killing five more. The blast site was splattered with blood. The injured were crying for help even as people ran helter-skelter, confused, stunned and fearing more explosions. The injured were rushed to the Yashoda Hospital, Osmania General Hospital, and other private hospitals. Sources said many of the victims had received major injuries. The Saroornagar police said the place was very crowded at the time of the blasts with workers and employees returning home after work. The area was also full of devotees who had come to the nearby Sai Baba temple — where a blast had killed two persons in 2002 — to offer prayers on Thursday, a holy day. Large police contingents from Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates were rushed in. The police and fire-fighting personnel carried out the rescue operation, shifting the injured to ambulances and private vehicles. A CLUES team, dog squads, and security experts were combing the blast sites for evidence.Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, state police chief V. Dinesh Reddy and other officials visited the spot. Dinesh Reddy said the bombs were improvised explosive devices. The police was examining how large quantity of ammonium nitrate was used, and whether timer devices had set off the bombs. Police officials said they found pieces of cycles from which the bombs were hung. \"We are collecting clues from the area,\" a senior police official said. Officials said the samples collected from the area would be sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory for tests. Meanwhile, police commissioner Anurag Sharma appealed to people not to believe in rumours and to relay any information they receive to the police. \"We are on high alert. Security forces, including bomb squads, are keeping an on suspected terror links in the city. If anybody finds anything suspicious, they should inform the police immediately,\" he said.