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Two killed, five hurt in Delhi blast

Two people were killed and five were injured, when a high intensity bomb exploded in a Haryana Roadways bus at the inter-state bus terminal in New Delhi yesterday.

The blast, which occurred at around 1130 hours could have caused more harm if the bus had not been empty.

Those killed were identified as Rameshwari Devi and K Ahmed. Three others, Sanjay, Jai Bhagwan and Ram Krishan, were admitted to the Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

Central Forensic Science Laboratory officials and the bomb disposal squad were investigating the nature of the bomb.

The Haryana Roadways bus coming from Jind had entered the ISBT around 1115 hours. The passengers got off and the bus was parked in the bay in preparation for the return journey.

The explosion took place soon after in the rear right side of the bus, causing considerable damage there. The roof in that area was torn off. Six buses that had been parked nearby were damaged.

Police sources said the explosive device must have been placed between Panipat and Murthal, where the bus last stopped. At Murthal, a few people had alighted but nobody had got on, the police said. Between Murthal and the ISBT, the bus had not stopped anywhere.

ISBT officials said that the explosion could have caused much more casualties had the back of the bus been facing the kiosks and food-stalls where more people roamed.

Rameshwari Devi and her son Ram Krishan were standing on the road when the blast occurred. Sanjay, the brother of the driver of the Delhi-Ambala Haryana Roadways bus parked nearby, and Jai Bhagwan, the conductor, were sitting within that bus. K Ahmed, a hawker, was on the pavement.

This is the third explosion in the capital this year. One person was killed and 50 injured in a blast close to the police headquarters on January 9. Two people were injured when a low intensity bomb was thrown into a car park in south Delhi on June 27.

UNI

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