IED blast in Bengaluru's Church Street, 1 killed

A woman was confirmed dead and another injured in an explosion triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device on Sunday night in front of a popular restaurant on a busy road in the heart of Bengaluru.

The blast occurred around 8.30 pm near Coconut Grove, a famous restaurant on Church Street, close to the fashionable Brigade Road, which is dotted with bars and restaurants with teeming crowd on weekends.

The deceased woman was identified as 33-year-old Bhavani.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah and assured him that all help will be given by the Centre.

Singh said the chief minister apprised him of the situation.

"Spoke to Karnataka CM S Siddaramaiah regarding the Bangalore blast. He apprised me of the situation. The Centre is ready to provide all help," Singh tweeted.

"At about 8:30 pm on the Church street outside the restaurant called Coconut Grove there was an explosion heard... we have found that there was improvised explosive device that was used by some culprits and in this explosion two persons have been injured," City Police Commissioner M N Reddi told media persons.

"As far as the current information is concerned the IED that has been used is like a low intensity bomb and some shrapnels have obviously hit the individuals who have been injured. This is the information we have," he said.

Reddi said the entire city police force had been mobilised and added that additional force from Karnataka State reserve police had also been sought.

Internal security division experts along with the forensic team, dog squad as well as anti-sabotage check team have rushed to the spot.

Reddi said no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Asked if there was any threat perception to the city, Reddi said: "There has been threat perception in general, in view of the fact that there are festivities, in view of the fact that New Year's eve coming..."

He said there has been "some amount" of threat perception but that has been generic and there has been an alert in general.

The country's information technology hub was hit by bomb blasts in 2008, 2010 and 2013.

In serial blasts caused by IED at nine places in 2008, two persons were killed and 20 others injured.

Two bombs exploded outside the cricket stadium hours before an IPL match, leaving 15 persons injured in 2010. A third bomb was defused.

In 2013, a bomb blast outside the state BJP headquarters in the crowded Malleshwaram area just ahead of the assembly polls had left 16 persons injured.

Image: Police cordoned off the Church Street area in Bengaluru after a low level IED went off outside a restaurant in the area. Photograph: ANI