Low-intensity blast outside Delhi HC

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) A low-intensity explosion
outside the Delhi High Court Wednesday rocked the capital that
created panic but caused no damage.
The explosion, which broke an eight month lull after a
similar explosion near Jama Masjid ahead of the Commonwealth
Games, prompted Delhi Police to sound an alert in the city and
strengthen security by deploying more personnel on streets and
crowded places like markets and malls.
The blast of a crude bomb, which had some nail-like
shrapnel, a battery-like object and suspected to contain
ammonium nitrate, took place in a service lane outside the
court where lawyers' vehicles were parked.
The explosive kept in a white polythene bag near a
lawyer's car went off at around 1.25 pm causing panic. Police
said no one was injured nor was there damage to any property.
Delhi Police's elite anti-terror wing Special Cell
will investigate the explosion outside the court.
Police was groping for clues in the blast and were
hesitant to hazard a guess about who was behind it.
"It was not an accident. There was a minor explosion.
A packet containing explosives kept in a plastic bag near the
car's right side exploded. There were minor damages to the
car. There was no casualty or injuries," Dharmendra Kumar,
Special Commissioner (Law and Order), told reporters.
Today's blast was the second in the last eight months,
the previous one being a blast in car on September 19 last
year near Jama Masjid for which terror outfit Indian
Mujahideen took responsibility. That blast took place after
two unidentified men opened fire at a Taiwanese media crew
ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Noting that the nature of the explosives is yet to be
ascertained, he said the car owner has nothing to do with the
incident. He said lawyer Rajat Jain had parked his car and
had gone to the canteen to have food.
Personnel of the Delhi Police's Special Cell, Crime
Branch and Bomb Detection and Disposal Unit were immediately
rushed to the site along with fire brigade while experts from
Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Delhi and NSG collected
samples from the spot.
Sources said the forensic experts have collected some
white powder and battery-like object from the spot but there
were no shrapnels or timer devices.
"It was not a life-threatening blast... It was a small
blast," Kumar said adding the samples have been sent for
forensic examination. He said it was an open access area and
there were no CCTV coverage on the lane.
"We are trying to ascertain whether it is an
explosion. The residue found has been sent for forensic
analysis to see whether there is any sign of explosive," U K
Bansal, Secretary (Internal Security) in Union Home Ministry,
said.
Bansal said initially Explosive Vapour Device Detector
was used to analyse the chemical composition of the explosive
but it did not yield result. That can now be determined as the
forensic teams of Delhi and National Security Guard (NSG) will
be analysing the substance, he said.
After the September 13, 2008 blasts which killed 26
people and injured around 70, the city had witnessed several
minor blasts. Fifteen days after the September 13 blasts, a
low intensity explosion killed a girl in Mehrauli.
A series of mysterious blasts near IIT in south Delhi
as also the Jama Masjid blast in 2005 and last year along with
the Mehrauli case remain unsolved.