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18 hurt in H'abad bomb blast

HAFEEZ SHAIKH

HYDERABAD: At least 18 persons, including three women and two minor boys, were wounded when a timer device went off in front of New Cloth Market, a thickly populated area here in the jurisdiction of Fort police station on Wednesday afternoon.

According to police, the timer device, planted inside a wooden cabin in front of the cloth market, went off with a big bang at about 2.20 p.m as a result of which, two cabins were blown up while 18 persons receive wounds.

Edhi ambulances immediately rushed to the spot and shifted the injured persons, first to Memon Charitable Hospital and then LMC Hospital, City Branch, where first aid was provided to them.

The injured persons were identified as Abdullah, his wife Rashida, Jabbar s/o Laeeq Shah, Shakooran w/o Babu, Sardar Khan s/o Shamsher Khan Ali Mohammad s/o Niaz Mohammad, a boy Dildar s/o Ghulam Hussain Chandio, Muzaffar s/o Afzaluddin, Abdul Mehmood s/o Mohammad Hanif, Firdous, Mohammad Jawad s/o Mohammad Ismail, his nephew Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Yaqoob, Shafih s/o Saeed, Mohammad Ilyas s/o Faqir Mohammad, Asghar Shah s/o Adeel Shah, Gulzar and Chand Mohammad s/o Allah Noor.

Abdullah, a resident of Memon Society, who came for shopping along with his wife Rasheeda, said that he heard big bang and felt some splinters hit his legs. He said: "We both fell down and saw a stampede of male, female and children, running with tears and fear."

Mohammad Jawad, who came along with his nephew Abrar Ahmed, said that he heard a big bang and saw smoke from a cabin which blew up later.

An eye-witness informed this scribe that the timer device was planted inside a cabin of 'Lunda' clothes, on the main city drain.

Soon after the blast, all business and shopping activity at the cloth market and Fakir Ka Pir area was immediately and the area people started rescue work.

High police officers, including DIG, Hyderabad, Saud Mirza, and SSP Hyderabad, Mohammad Ramzan Channa rushed to the spot along with Deputy Commissioner, Rizwan Ahmed and SDM City, Suhail Rajput.

The DIG enquired about the incident from the area people. The shopkeepers of the area complained about the absence of bomb disposal squad.

The DIG directed the officers concerened to call the bomb disposal squad and clear the debris.

Meanwhile, a heavy police force, which cordoned off the area, baton-charged the people, who had gathered at the spot to enquire about the situation. The act of the police created unrest among the people and they started raising slogans. However, SDM, City Suhail Rajput, intervened and the people dispersed peacefully.

The same situation was witnessed at Memon Charitable Hospital and LMC Hospital, City Branch, where emergency was declared following the arrival of injured persons.

DIG Saud Mirza, who also visited the hospital and enquired the welfare of injured persons, termed it as act of terrorism.

Talking to newsmen, he said that the terrorists had selected a thickly populated area for the blast so that heavy casualties could take place. However, he said that with the blessings of Almighty God the people received only injuries. It was an act of sabotage the peaceful situation of Hyderabad city, he added.

The DIG said that the involvement of foreign hand in the blast could not be ruled out.

About the failure of police to stop terrorist activities in Hyderabad, the DIG said that the police had already adopted strict security measures in the city. However, he said that such incidents could happen in any part of the world and the terrorist can plant such types of devices at any of their selected places and it was not possible to spread the police force in the entire city.

A senior police officer said that initial investigation had revealed that the device was locally made. However, the intensity and weight of the device will be ascertained after final report of the bomb disposal squad.