Chaotic scenes at blast site, vehicles in flames

Mangalore Today/DHNS

Bangalore, Apr 17 , 2013 : A loud bang and the next moment three cars went up in flames and a bike blown to smithereens, recounted witnesses to a terror strike outside the BJP office here buzzing with activity ahead of the May 5 Assembly polls.

"All of us were sitting in a police van in front of which the cars and a motorbike were parked. I heard a deafening sound and when I opened my eyes I saw all the three vehicles in flames and the bike blown to smithereens," 50-year-old Meerannavar told PTI.

 

 

 

"Our van was fully damaged, the glass panes shattered, with splinters hitting us. The impact of the blast was so much that the seats sprang up and I almost hit the roof. I cannot hear through my left ear now," said the policeman, undergoing treatment at the hospital.

He was among the injured police personnel from the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP).
Meerannavar has glass splinters embedded in his head which would have to be removed, according to the doctors.

58-year-old Kunjappa, a KSRP Sub Inspector, said, "The sound was such, I felt my head would split into two. While I saw flames leaping from the vehicles, the bike broke into pieces." Kunjappa was also having hearing problem and suffered injuries all over his body.

"My head still feels heavy and is reeling. It was a sound which I will never like to hear again. The vehicles in front of our van were burning while our van was badly damaged with glass splinters from the broken window panes flying all over. I feel terrible," said Vishveshwaraiah (50), looking badly shaken after the incident.

 

Registration details of motorcycle, SIM card recovered.Two kilos of explosives used, say police; CCTV footage offers clues.

Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok on Wednesday said that a mobile SIM card and details of the registration of the motorcycle found at the Bangalore blast site had been recovered. The minister again ruled out any political rivalry and said that the blast was purely a terror attack.

Meanwhile, a civil defence team will be doing a reccee of the Mantri mall in Malleshwaram as well as the railway station as a precautionary measure, sources said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Bangalore Police have begun their probe into the blast.