Update
Hyderabad blasts: Police get vital clues
Hyderabad, Feb 22 (IANS): Police Friday gathered vital clues in the devastating bomb attacks in Hyderabad that left 16 people dead and injured more than 100 -- besides causing a storm in parliament.
Twenty-four hours after the blasts, police also announced rewards for anyone providing information about the suspects seen in Dilsukhnagar where the evening rush hour bombings Thursday also maimed dozens.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner D. Tirumala Rao asked people for information about a young man seen in the area before the bombs went off.
"If you have seen a youth carrying something and parking a scooter or a cycle under suspicious circumstances, provide the information to police," he said at the scene of the terror attack.
Claiming that police had obtained many clues, he said he was confident the case would be cracked. He said investigations were on at a brisk pace.
Police are believed to have gathered revealing clues from CCTV footage.
"I don't think CCTVs have failed. Some images have been captured," Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters after a visit to the scene of attack Friday evening.
Of the three CCTVs in the area, two are believed to have captured some images which may help the police in identifying the terrorists who planted bombs near two cinema theatres.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) began the probe after police registered two cases.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and forensic experts gathered clues from the sites.
Earlier, the death toll rose to 16 with two injured succumbing at two hospitals. The toll could mount further as the condition of some of the injured was said to be critical.
A pall of gloom descended on the otherwise busy Dilsukhnagar Road while heart rending scenes were witnessed at hospitals.
There was palpable tension in Dilsukhnagar where VIPs made a beeline while thousands gathered out of curiosity.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who flew to Hyderabad early Friday, said: "There was no specific information that it (blasts) will happen in a particular area.
"A general alert has been sounded for the last two-three days. We have issued this alert in the entire country," he said.
Shinde later Friday faced the ire of the opposition in parliament, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing him of taking a casual attitude vis-a-vis the terror attack.
Besides Shinde and Azad, union ministers S. Jaipal Reddy, K. Chiranjeevi and Sarve Satyanarayana, BJP president Rajnath Singh, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi visited the blast site and hospitals.
Hundreds of people, mostly BJP and ABVP activists, gathered at the blast sites and raised slogans against terrorists and Pakistan.
Police had a tough time in controlling the crowds. Though police did not impose any restrictions on traffic, only few vehicles were on the roads.
Most shops and business establishments on the road was closed.
Elsewhere in the city, the shutdown called by the BJP evoked a partial response. There was no impact on Cyberabad, the IT district that houses IT giants like Microsoft and Google.
Most schools and colleges were shut. Most shops and businesses were open. BJP activists went around the city asking shopkeepers to down shutters.
Barricades were erected in Begumpet leading to the US Consulate in the heart of the city.
Toll in Hyderabad terror attack rises to 16, Indian Mujahideen suspected
Hyderabad, Feb 22 (IANS): The death toll in the twin bomb blasts that rocked Hyderabad rose to 16 with two more of the injured succumbing to their injuries Friday.
The deaths took place in two private hospitals, officials said.
Earlier Friday, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters after a visit to the site of the terror attack that 14 people were killed and 119 injured in the Thursday evening explosions.
Fourteen bodies were brought to the government-run Osmania Hospital Thursday night. Twelve of them have been identified and the bodies handed over to their relatives.
Shinde also visited Care Hospital, one of the seven hospitals where the injured were admitted. Out of 20 in Care, three are in critical condition.
At Omni Hospital, two of the 18 injured are in serious condition, doctors said. Seven of the 14 admitted to Yashoda Hospital are also battling for their lives.
Indian Mujahideen suspected
Hyderabad, Feb 22 (PTI): Preliminary investigation into the twin blasts in Hyderabad has suggested that Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were used to carry out the explosions and the modus operandi was similar to blasts triggered by the banned militant outfit Indian Mujahideen.
"The blasts triggered by IED tied to two bicycles at two sites 100 metres apart and some traces of Ammonium Nitrate were also found from the two spots," police said.
The toll in last evening's powerful explosions has climbed to 16. Five of the 119 injured are stated to be in a critical condition.
Forensic experts of NSG and NIA and state police were examining all materials found from the blast sites and a final report was awaited.
Delhi Police, along with Hyderabad Police, is expected to interrogate an alleged Indian Mujahideen terrorist, arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police from a place in Hyderabad last October.
Maqbool, who is currently in Tihar jail, had said the outfit was planning terror strikes in some places in Hyderabad for which recce had been carried out.
Union Home Secretary R K Singh had said last night that the explosions were "very powerful" while eye witnesses said the impact of the blast at the bus stop was such that interiors of two shops right behind it in a three-storied building were badly damaged.
Hyderabad blasts: Five young students among 14 dead
Hyderabad, Feb 22 (PTI): 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.
14 killed, 119 injured in Hyderabad blasts: Shinde
Hyderabad, Feb 22 (IANS): Fourteen people were killed and 119 injured in the twin bomb blasts that rocked Hyderabad Thursday evening, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Friday.
Talking to reporters after visiting the scene of the blasts and calling on the injured at one of the hospitals, Shinde said six of the injured were in a critical condition.
He said he can't share more information as parliament is in session.
"The state government has already appointed an investigation team and the matter is being investigated now," he said.
"There was no specific information that it (blasts) will happen in a particular area. A general alert has been sounded for the last two-three days and we have issued this alert to whole of the country," he said, when asked about his earlier statement that the central government had issued an alert.
Shinde did not agree that police had failed.
"It cannot be said at this moment. One has to go into the details. If there was threat perception earlier, it will come in the investigations. It will be too early to talk on such lines," he said.
"We will not leave any stone unturned. We will find everything. At this moment, nothing can be said. The matter is under investigation," he added while refusing to comment on whether he suspects Indian Mujahideen's involvement.
Shinde also clarified that no time limit can be set for the investigations.
The union home minister, who arrived here early Friday, drove to Dilsukhnagar and inspected the blast scene along with Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, state Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and other officials.
Director General of Police Dinesh Reddy briefed Shinde about the two near-simultaneous blasts in the crowded area.
Shinde later called on the injured at the city's Care Hospital.
Earlier Report
Hyderabad, Feb 21 (IANS): Twin bomb blasts rocked Hyderabad Thursday evening, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 50 others, the union home ministry said. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister however put the toll at 11 while eyewitnesses reported 18 deaths.
In the first terror strike in the city since 2007, the two near-simultaneous explosions occurred in Dilsukhnagar area, south of Musi River in the southern part of the Andhra Pradesh capital and about 15 km from the heart of the city, when the busy commercial area was crowded with people returning home.
According to some eyewitness accounts, three explosions were heard but most said they heard two loud explosions within a couple of minutes.
The first blast occurred around 7 p.m. near a tiffin centre opposite Venkatadri theatre and the second near Konark theatre. The bombs were planted on bicycles.
Ambulances and police vehicles rushed to the area. The injured were shifted to Yashoda Hospital at Malakpet and to the government-run Osmania Hospital. Gory pictures of the victims without limbs were seen. Others with bleeding injuries were shifted to ambulances.
Initially people believed it to be an explosion of a gas cylinder at the tiffin centre but the second explosion soon after triggered panic in the area. An eye witness told reporters that people ran in panic. Some people using the foot-over-bridge in the area were those among killed and injured.
So powerful were the explosions that the body parts of some of the victims were found several meters away from the scene. Ammonium nitrate is suspected to have been used for the blasts.
The area was cordoned off as senior police officials and sleuths from National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau rushed to the scene.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy, Director General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy and others visited the scene in the area, close to Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway.
The area faced its second terrorist strike in over 10 years. Two people were killed in an explosion near Saibaba Temple on Nov 21, 2002. The Lashkar-e-Toiba had been held responsible.
In Delhi, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde admitted the government had received intelligence warning of blasts taking place in the country but no specific target was mentioned.
"We were receiving information for the last two days that such a blast may take place... there was no input about which city would be targeted," Shinde told reporters adding that the information was passed onto all the states.
"We cannot speculate about the perpetrators at this point of time," he said further.
Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh put the number of dead at 12. "Twin blasts have occurred. The number of dead has increased from 10 to 12 and the injured are 57," he told reporters after holding a high-level security meet.
NIA and the National Security Guard (NSG) teams have been sent to Hyderabad, he said.
The Andhra chief minister put the toll at 11 dead and 80 injured, of which five to six were in serious condition.
"We condemn this barbaric act. The state government along with central government will see to it that the culprits are booked as early as possible," said Kiran Reddy at a a press conference, appealing to people to maintain peace.
He announced an ex-gratia of Rs.6 lakh to each the kin of those killed and Rs.50,000 to Rs.1 lakh to the injured depending on the severity of their injuries. He also declared that the state government would bear the cost of their treatment.
The chief minister said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Shinde spoke to him. "They assured all help from the centre and asked us to be alert about any such incidents happening again."
Strongly condemning the twin blasts, the prime minister described it as a "dastardly attack" and said the guilty should not "go unpunished".
"This is a dastardly attack, the guilty will not go unpunished," a tweet from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) quoted Manmohan Singh as saying.
Gandhi also expressed her "sorrow and anguish" over the attack.
Had information that blasts may occur: Shinde
The government had received intelligence warning of blasts taking place in the country, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Thursday in the wake of the twin blasts in Hyderabad.
"We were receiving information for the last two days that such a blast may take place... we cannot speculate about the perpetrators at this point of time," Shinde told reporters here.
Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh also said that the government had got intelligence about the blast.
Shinde put the toll at eight - five in the first blast and three in the second. He said both the blasts took place within 100 to 150 metres of each other in the crowded Dilsukhnagar, a busy commercial area in the southern part of city, about 15 km from the heart of the city.
Centre had alerted all states on Tuesday
New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI): Two days before the Hyderabad blasts, the Centre had alerted all states that Pakistan-based terrorist groups may carry out attacks in a major city to avenge the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru.
Sources said the central security agencies had sent an advisory on Tuesday asking all states to tighten security in sensitive places as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen may launch attacks.
The security agencies sent another advisory yesterday saying banned Indian Mujahideen too may may to carry out terror attacks to avenge the hanging of Kasab and Afzal.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, without disclosing details, today said that all states were alerted about a possible terror strike by militant groups.
However, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy said these were general alerts and keep coming often.
Delhi on high alert following Hyderabad blasts
Delhi has been put on high alert and security beefed up at all important buildings and markets following two blasts in Hyderabad, officials said.
"The city is on high alert and security has been stepped up. The number of armed security personnel at all important buildings and markets has been increased," a senior police officer said.
"Patrolling has been intensified as well," he added.
At least 10 people were killed and 50 injured in the twin blasts near two theatres in Dilsukhnagar, a busy commercial area in the southern part of Hyderabad, about 15 km from the heart of the city.
High alert across Andhra Pradesh
Police sounded high alert in Hyderabad and other cities in Andhra Pradesh after two blasts killed over 10 people in Hyderabad and injured scores of others.
Police with dog squads began search operations in several busy market areas in Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad to foil any explosives.
Security was beefed up at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, state secretariat, Charminar and other vital installations, a police official said.
An alert was also sounded in coastal city of Visakhapatnam, temple town of Tirupati and other major towns across the state.
Hyderabad blasts dastardly attack: PM
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday decsribed the twin blasts in Hyderabad as an "dastardly attack" and said the guilty should not "go unpunished."
"This is a dastardly attack, the guilty will not go unpunished," a tweet from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) quoted Manmohan Singh as saying of of the two blasts that killed at least 10 people and injured 50.
The PMO also said that the prime minister "strongly condemned" the bomb blasts.
"I appeal to the public to remain calm and maintain peace."
"PM also directed the central agencies to extend all possible help to Andhra Pradesh state authorities in relief operations," the tweet said.