Blasts throw life out of gear in Pune

Blasts throw life out of gear in Pune

It was panic all around on the busy Jungli Maharaj (JM) Road on Wednesday evening, as the news of explosions in the busy Deccan area went around like wild fire. Four low intensity blasts within 45 minutes rocked the city throwing life and traffic off gear for major part of the evening.

The first explosion was recorded around 8 pm, near the rear entrance of the Balgandharva Rangamandir. The blast took place in the bag of Dayanand Patil (30), a tailor who was on his way home after finishing his work. According to commissioner of police Gulabrao Pol, the low intensity explosives were put in Patil’s bag when he had stopped at the protest organised by the India Against Corruption (IAC) in support of similar activities carried out by Team Anna in New Delhi. Pol has ruled out any terrorist angle in the explosions and had claimed that it was an instance of mischief mongering to create an atmosphere of panic in the city.

According to witness accounts, the intensity of the explosions was quite low and many of them thought it was an instance of car back firing or some fire crackers being let loose. The second and third blasts took place in quick successions within 500 m of the first explosion site on the JM Road. While the second explosion took place in the garbage bin of the fast food joint of McDonalds, the third explosion took place opposite the Dena Bank on a mountain terrain bike. The third explosive was fitted on a new mountain terrain bike (MTB), bicycle and was kept hidden in a cake box.

The fourth explosion happened near the Garware underpass, and the explosive was kept in a similar MTB. Another explosive was defused in front of the Kalmadi petrol pump at around 9.45 pm. The gathered crowd burst into impromptu applause once the explosive was defused.

Within seconds of the explosions, there were many rumours going around. Traffic on the busy road was thrown out of gear. There were traffic snarls all over the place with many getting caught in jams. Pol, along with the top echelon of the police force, was on the street in order to keep the situation under control. Also, the bomb detection squad of the Indian Army was called in to conduct extensive combing operation on JM Road. Following the blast near McDonalds, two film screenings were stoped at the R Deccan multiplex. Yogesh Shimte, the mall manager said that post hearing the news about the blasts, they stopped the shows and vacated the mall immediately.

Nisarg Vyas, a motorcyclist, who had come for an outing, took a turn from Omkareshwar towards JM Road and heard a blast. “I felt it was an accident near the petrol pump – but it turned out to be a blast.”

District collector Vikas Deshmukh, mayor Vaishali Bankar and other officials were at the scene of the explosion. While Deshmukh, had returned from his inspection of the dams, Bankar and other political leaders had rushed to the scene after hearing about the blast. Former corporator Sunil Bankar opined that it might be a ploy to foment communal tension in the city during Ramzan and Shravan.