One woman killed, 3 injured in IED blast on busy Bangalore street - The Indian Express

Police officials on spot where a low intensity bomb blast occurred at church street in Bengaluru on Sunday night. (Source photo: PTI )

A 38-year-old woman was killed and three persons were injured after an explosion suspected to have been triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off on Sunday night in front of a popular restaurant on Bangalore’s busy Church Street.

The blast occurred around 8.30 pm on a footpath adjacent to Coconut Grove. Church Street is close to Bangalore’s Brigade Road, which is dotted with bars and restaurants that are teeming with people on weekends.

Initial investigations indicate it may have been a pipe bomb, packed with shrapnel in the form of iron pieces. Battery of a timer has been found. The bomb was wrapped first in a cloth, and then in a Telugu newspaper. The explosion left an eight-inch crater in the ground.

All the three victims were hit by shrapnel, City Police Commissioner M N Reddi told reporters. Bhawani, who belonged to Tamil Nadu and was visiting the city, was struck in the head and body and died of excessive bleeding.

One of the injured man was said to be her relative Karthik, who is also serious. The two were walking on the street after leaving a nearby restaurant. The two other victims have minor injuries. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

Police have cordoned off the area, taken records from mobile towers in the vicinity to trace phones active in the region at the time of the blast, and are collecting CCTV footage for entire Church Street. The city has been put on alert and additional forces sought from the Karnataka State Reserve Police.

Internal security division experts along with a forensic team, dog squad and anti-sabotage check teams are at the spot. A central team is expected to visit Bangalore Monday.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and assured him of all help from the Centre. “He apprised me of the situation,” Singh tweeted. He also said the Central government was ready to deal with any such incident.

“As per current information, IED was used and it was a low-intensity bomb. Some shrapnel hit the individuals who were injured,” Reddi continued…