Saurabh Ojha
THREE persons including a constable were injured in a low intensity blast near the famous Dagadusheth Halvai Ganesh temple in Pune on Thursday. Several vehicles were damaged.
According to Pune police an explosive device kept in a motorcycle in the parking lot of Pharaskhana police station went off. A scooter parked adjacent to the motorbike in which the device was placed too was damaged. Ball bearings and nails have been recovered from the spot and sent for forensic examination. The explosive use in the blast was yet to be identified.
The wounded persons had received minor injuries.Only one of them needed hospitalization. The constable was passing nearby the spot.
Speaking to media Pune Police Commissioner Satish Mathur said, “It was a low intensity blast and police are probing the case keeping in mind all possibilities, including terror angle.”
Immediately after the blast, forensic experts, senior police officials, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and a team from Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) reached the spot.
Home Minister RR Patil said there was no need to panic and people should not listen to rumours. He appealed to all to cooperate with the authorities.
The Dagdusheth Ganesh temple, is said to be on the terrorists’ radar for quite some time.
Earlier blasts in Pune
1- on August 1, 2012 Pune was rocked by four coordinated low-intensity explosions which had left one person injured.
2- on February 13, 2010 the city had come on the terrorists’ radar for the first time when 17 people were killed and around 60 injured in a powerful blast at German Bakery.