South Asia News

One killed in blasts in India's Bangalore city (1st Lead)

Jul 25, 2008, 10:55 GMT

New Delhi - At least one person was killed and six wounded Friday when five blasts shook India's southern city of Bangalore, police said.

The low-intensity explosions took place near crowded areas and bus stations in five areas, including Madiwala, Adugodi and Vittal Mallya Road in the city, which is considered India's information-technology capital.

Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri told reporters one woman was killed in the blasts, which he called acts of people who wanted to terrorize the city.

'We will investigate and arrest the suspects,' he said, adding that the bombs were fitted with timer devices. 'We are on complete alert.'

Police sources told the NDTV network that the explosions occurred within 15 minutes of one another, beginning at 1:20 pm (0750 GMT), and sparked panic in the city.

The number of casualties and amount of property damage was small because low-intensity explosives, possibly gelatin sticks, were used in the attacks, police said.

Additional police, bomb squads and forensic teams were rushed to the scenes of the blasts to maintain law and order and conduct investigations.

Police appealed to people not to panic and to go about their routine work, but most businesses and shopping malls shut down as soon as the news of the blasts spread.

More than 40 per cent of the country's IT and software industry is based in Bangalore, which Indian security agencies said has become a prime target for Muslim and Maoist militants.