M A I N   N E W S

Chilling reminder of ’93 serial blasts

Mumbai, August 25
Panic gripped the commercial hub of the city as blood-splattered bodies, shattered windowpanes and loud wails of the injured rent the air as two explosions rocked the city, leaving over 45 dead and hundreds injured, making it the sixth such incident in the past nine months

The calm of the sea washing the stone and brick base at the Gateway of India facing the famous Taj Mahal Hotel was shattered this afternoon as the powerful bomb ripped through an Ambassador car parked in front of the hotel.

Several plush cars lined outside the posh hotel were transformed into a mangled heap of metal and wires, choking the area as a plume of dark smoke emanated from the blast site. The Ambassador carrying the potential bomb was blown to smithereens.

Within minutes of the explosion, the tranquil sunlit front thronged by tourists and professional photographers after a heavy bout of rain yesterday, turned chaotic with blood-splattered bodies strewn all around the site.

Pedestrians rushing through the bustling road in front of Regal Theatre were caught unawares as a huge chunk of red heavy metal swirled through the air from the Hotel and landed bang opposite the theatre, located several metres away.

Mr Jitendra Bhargava, Director Public Relations, Air-India who was inside the hotel when the explosion occurred, said it was so loud that he felt as if the hotel had shaken.

However, the Gateway and the hotel, which are both heritage monuments did not suffer any damage in the blast, save some windowpanes of the hotel that were shattered.

At Dhanji Street near Mumbadevi Temple, the hub of the diamond trade, peace of the narrow bylanes was shattered as many a black and yellow vehicles parked alongside were reduced to worthless junk, seconds after a bomb ripped through a taxi parked on the road.

In a chilling reminder of the March 12, 1993, serial explosions, chunks of flesh were strewn across the street and the blood-spattered pavements stood mute testimony to reckless violence that disrupted all business activity.

As pedestrians tried to find their way through the chaos, the police zoomed into action and cordoned off the entire area.

In the rest of the city, a wave of panic and silence spread with the news of the explosions, coming days ahead of the much-awaited festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. — PTI 

Several states put on high alert

Policemen stand guard near India Gate in New Delhi on Monday as security is put on high alert. — Reuters photo

Mumbai, August 25
Several states were today put on high alert and security beefed up at airports and vital installations immediately after the twin blasts in the metropolis.

In Ahmedabad, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has asked the police to maintain high vigil in sensitive areas.

PM, Sonia condemn killings

New Delhi, August 25
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi condemned the Mumbai blasts today and said they were caused by terrorists.

Voicing shock at the tragic loss of innocent lives, Mr Vajpayee conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost their loves ones.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today denounced the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai by “anti-national forces’’ and said they should be firmly countered by the government agencies.

“I condemn the serial blasts in Mumbai in the strongest possible terms,’’ she said in a statement read out by party spokesperson Jaipal Reddy at a press briefing here.— PTI, UNI

USA, UK, Pak, Germany flay blasts

New Delhi, August 25
The USA, Pakistan, Britain and Germany today condemned the car bombings in Mumbai and expressed their firm determination to fight the scourge of international terrorism.

Deploring the attack, Pakistan foreign office spokesman said in Islamabad “Civilians have been targeted in the blasts. We condemn all such attacks.” — PTI