CNN-IBN

Varanasi, March 7: Up to a dozen people were feared killed and many others injured when two high-intensity blasts rocked the famous Sankatmochan Temple and the Cantonment railway station in Varanasi on Tuesday evening.

The Director General of Railway Protection Force, A K Suri, later said there was a third blast at the holding area of the platform at the Varanasi railway station.

The blasts occurred between 1700 hours and 1830 hours (IST) and at least 10-12 people are feared killed.

The first explosion took place outside the temple at around 1700 hours when a large number of devotees were present for the evening 'aarti' of Tuesday, believed to be a special day for Lord Hanuman. Four people died in the explosion and several others were injured.

The loud explosion set off panic and a near-stampede situation as devotees scrambled to rush out to safety even as the workers ferried injured persons, including several old women, to the hospital.

The injured have been rushed to various hospitals, including the nearby government hospital, which is located near the railway station.

Minutes later, another blast took place outside the station master's room of the Cantonment railway station. Several casualities were feared in the explosion, officials said.

The bomb squad later defused another live bomb at the Gudauliya market.

The Sankatmochan temple has been closed and all entry and exit points of Varanasi have been sealed.

While police initially attributed the explosion to a cylinder blast, intelligence sources later said sophisticated explosive devices were used in both the blasts. The sources have also said that the hand of Lashkar-e-Toiba was suspected behind the blasts.