Hyderabad, Feb 22: A "highly-disturbed" crime scene has not helped police make much headway into the twin bomb blasts probe at Dilsukhnagar here even as special teams from NIA, NSG and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory collected samples and sent them for detailed analysis.
The Saroor Nagar police registered a case, based on a complaint by eye-witness Gadagolla Anand, under different sections of IPC and Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act as well as Sections 16, 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on the twin blasts in which 16 people were killed and 119 injured.
"The crime scene was largely disturbed as large number of people moved freely even before we could totally sanitize the two spots," an Inspector General of Police, who was among the first to reach the spot last night, said.
"A lot of evidence virtually got trampled due to movement of VIPs, including the Chief Minister, large number of media personnel and curious onlookers.But still we could gather some material that could help us in the probe,” he said.
"It was a high-grade explosion but the quantity of explosive used was low as it was an improvised explosive device. There was no conclusion yet about the type of explosive used in the blasts. There are still many loose ends in the case which we are trying to tie up.
He said police is examining video footage recorded on closed-circuit cameras, installed at the Dilsukhnagar bus stand junction (Rajiv Chowk) and also at one of the bus shelters in the vicinity.
Sleuths from the Crime Investigation Department joined their other colleagues in carrying the investigation forward even as special teams constituted by the state police started scouring for clues across the city.
"The fast food centre where the blast occurred is always bustling with customers, mostly students, as there are a good number of coaching institutes in the locality.Some students had just come for tea last night when tragedy struck," Dwarakanath, who works in a shop on the other side of the road, said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu squarely blamed the state government for failing to act on the intelligence inputs about possible terror attack.
"I strongly condemn the incident and demand that the government take foolproof steps to ensure it did not recur," Chandrababu said after visiting the blast site.
Earlier:
Hyderabad blasts: Toll goes up to 16; Shinde assures thorough probe
Hyderabad, Feb 22: The death toll in the twin blasts in the city today mounted to 16 with two more persons succumbing to their injuries in a hospital.
"Till now, out of 14 bodies, 12 have been handed over to their kin. Two more bodies are in the mortuary. One has to be identified. 14 bodies have directly been sent to Osmania Hospital. Two more are awaited from private hospitals," a senior doctor at the state-run Osmania General Hospital said.
The hospital has received 37 people with injuries while some of them have been admitted to corporate hospitals, he said.
As many as 119 people sustained injuries in the twin blasts last evening, police said.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who visited the site of the blast and also the injured in hospital, told reporters that the condition of six of them was critical.
Terror struck Hyderabad yesterday when two powerful near simultaneous blasts ripped through a crowded area close to a cluster of bus stands in Dilsukhnagar area.
The blasts triggered by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) tied to two bicycles took place in the peak hour at two sites 100 metres apart outside a roadside eatery near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in the area located on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada national highway in Cyberabad police limits.
Shinde assures thorough probe
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that an all-inclusive investigation into the Thursday night twin bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar area of Hyderabad was in progress and the culprits who masterminded the crime will be identified and nabbed soon.
“We will leave no stone unturned to achieve the result immediately,“ Mr. Shinde told reporters in Hyderabad on Friday.
The Home Minister reached Hyderabad early morning on Friday and drove straight to the blood-stained blast sites amidst tight security. He was accompanied by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumr Reddy, and top officials from the State Police and National Investigation Agency.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Botcha Satyanarayana, Home Minister P. Sabitha Reddy, Major Industries Minter J. Geetha Reddy, Director-Geneal of Police V. Dinesh Reddy, and others were also in his entourage.
A visibly upset Union Home Minister, who earlier had served as Andhra Pradesh Governor, later visited CARE Hospital at Nampally where most of the injured persons are being treated. He spoke with some of them, trying to get a first-hand account of the attack.
Speaking to the media later at Lakeview Guesthouse, Mr. Shinde put the toll at 14 and the number of injured at 119. The condition of six of the injured was “critical”, he said, indicating that the toll might go up.
He declined to divulge further information about the incident as Parliament was in session. Mr. Shinde said it was too early to blame any organization or outfit for the blasts.
Mr Shinde also categorically said his ministry had not issued any “area-specific alert” to the Andhra Pradesh Government three to four days ago, warning that incidents such as bomb blasts would occur, as was being alleged. What was issued was “a general alert”, he affirmed.
He did not agree with the contention that the blasts were a result of intelligence failure.
He also said that the A.P. government would bear all the entire medical expenditure for treatment of the injured besides the ex-gratia already announced on Thursday. The ex-gratia announced was Rs. 6 lakh for the families of each of those killed and Rs. 50,000 to Rs. one lakh to each of the injured in the blasts.
Meanwhile, the state BJP unit has called for a statewide bandh on Friday to protest the twin blasts, party president G. Kishen Reddy said.
Earlier:
Hyderabad blasts: Five young students among 14 dead
Hyderabad, Feb 22: A trip to purchase books for the exam of sub-inspector in Excise department proved to be the last outing of Vijay Kumar, who was among the five students killed in the twin blasts in the city.
Among the other students killed was Rajasekhar, who was pursuing MBA, Harish, an engineering student from Kottapet locality in the city, and Swapna, another MBA student.
Vijay Kumar had come to the site to purchase some books as he was preparing to take the examination for the post of sub-inspector in Prohibition and Excise department when the blast took place.
Another deceased student - Azaz Ahmed - of Kottagudem in Khammam too had came to purchase books.
Bodies of 13 out of the 14 killed in the blast have been identified.
Of the 119 injured, most of them are in the age group of 19 to 22 years, police said.
Two powerful near simultaneous blasts had ripped through a crowded area close to a cluster of bus stands in Dilsukhnagar area yesterday.
The blasts, triggered by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) tied to two bicycles, took place at two sites 100 metres apart outside a roadside eatery near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in the area, located on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada national highway in Cyberabad police limits.
Dilsukhnagar is one of the densely populated and busy corridors of the city as bus stop here connects to almost all the parts of Hyderabad. A large fleet of buses make a halt here to pickup and drop commuters.
The area also has a number of educational institutions and one of the business markets in the city.
Suspected terrorists targeted the area for the second time in ten years.
Earlier, the area had witnessed an explosion in 2002 near Saibaba temple in which two persons were killed.
Meanwhile, the state BJP unit has called for a statewide bandh today to protest the twin blasts, party president G Kishen Reddy said.
Eariler:
Serial bomb blasts rock Hyderabad, 15 feared dead
Hyderabad, Feb 21: Two bomb blasts rocked the city of Hyderabad on Thursday evening with seven people feared dead in the explosion.
The explosion is said to have occurred at Dilsukh Nagar area of the city near a bus stop. The other blast happened near a theater. Both blasts happened simultaneously at around 7pm.
As per eyewitness several people have also been injured and have been rushed to the nearby hospital.
The locality is said to be very crowded.
The local ploice has reached the spot.
More details are awaited.
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