Pune blast: 'The terrorists failed to scare us'

A curious stream of onlookers, including foreigners, thronged the area near the popular bakery in Pune that witnessed the first terror strike in the country since 26/11, even as a posse of security personnel maintained tight vigil.

Undeterred by the powerful bomb that ripped across the place killing nine and injuring 57 others, locals and foreign nationals visited the German bakery, which is known as a place to "meet and eat."

"German bakery was a place where I came to meet and eat with my friends. I brought many of my outstation friends and took them around showing them the Osho commune and other posh bungalows in this area. I never thought it would happen here," Paresh Thorat, a local, said.

Displaying their love for the Koregaon Park area and its environs, foreign nationals were seen chatting with locals and police personnel.

"I am not scared. These things can happen anywhere. This is a good place and I must say that the terrorists failed to scare us," Renne, a foreigner said.

Nothing can stop me from coming here. I have talked to my relatives and have told then I am ok, Zoanne another foreigner said.

Police has cordoned off the area as investigators were busy picking up pieces for the post-blast investigations. The police has also deployed a good number of gun-totting commandos of the state police at the place along with traffic policemen and fire tenders.

The German bakery is a favourite food joint for foreigners, located close to Osho Ashram, which had been surveyed by Pakistani-origin American David Coleman Headley, a Lashkar-e Tayiba operative.

Television camera crews can be seen in the area trying to zoom in the bakery, which bore the maximum brunt of Saturday's blast.

The police has put up a 'shamiana' at the scene of the blast in order to facilitate the work of investigators and forensic experts.

Troops, drawn from the Pune based Southern Command of the Army and commandos from the newly created Force1 anti-terror unit of Maharashtra police have been deployed in the area.