Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandhigarh, Oct 15: Six persons were blown to pieces and 25 injured, some of them seriously, in a bomb blast and subsequent stampede at the Shingar cinema hall near the Samrala chowk here this evening.

The bomb was believed to be an RDX device.

Four of the six dead in the Shingar bomb blast were identified as Naushad, Narinder, Hiral Lal and Shahub-ud-din.

The incident took place right under the nose of the police post, located on the cinema premises.

The blast took place at 8:35 p.m. when the hall, screening Bhojpuri movie “Janam Janam ka Saath”, was packed to capacity with 700 people watching it. The bomb was suspected to have been kept in a handbag in the front row of the cinema hall.

The impact of the blast was so great that bodies rolled several times in the air before falling on the ground. A child's body was entangled in chairs. Pieces of three other bodies were also scattered in the hall.

Eyewitnesses said the impact was maximum on the front row. Many people were injured later when a stampede took place as the viewers panicked and tried to rush outside the hall. Many broke windowpanes of the hall to escape.

Many Muslims were watching the movie to celebrate Id. Munna Anjum, a relative of an injured Kitabuddin, said his uncle had gone to watch a movie with his family to celebrate the occasion. He did not know that he would return with a serious injury. His condition was stated to be critical.

Another man, who could not be identified, lost both his legs that were blown off. He was conscious but in a state of shock. He was brought to the CMC hospital, where he was not able to tell his name.

It was a providential escape for Ram Avtar, who was sitting in the front row. He had gone to urinate when the bomb went off. He was in a state of shock though he did not sustain any injury.

The police was trying to find out the description of two persons who might have slipped out of the hall minutes before the blast.

Sources said none of the six dead could be terror suspects as per the investigations so far. The cinema security guard had not been able to provide any leads so far.

SSP R.K. Jaiswal said that six deaths were confirmed. The bomb was being suspected to be RDX, as there was no fire in the hall. Had there been a petrol bomb, fire would have broken out.

He said security was beefed up in the entire city, especially in the Muslim-dominated areas. Strict measures were being taken so that there was no communal tension in any area. The Samrala Chowk area was converted into a police cantonment. Forensic experts were inspecting the spot. A pit was created at the site of the blast.