Three blasts rocked Mumbai's crowded Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar Kabootarkhana areas on Wednesday evening, killing 10 and injuring at least 100 people.
Mumbai Police sources say the Indian Mujahideen is suspected to be behind the attack. In Delhi, Home Ministry sources too say that the hand of the IM working closely with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba is suspected.
The first explosion took place at south Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, near the famous Mumbadevi temple, in which scores were injured, said Mumbai Police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli.
The injured in this blast have been rushed to G T Hospital in Kalbadevi area.
The bustling market also has a number of jewellery shops.
Akshay Doshi, a commuter, told rediff.com, "I was at the traffic signal opposite Zaveri Bazar. The blast was like nothing I have heard before. I saw many injured being carried away."
Senior police officers including Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, Additional Commissioner Naval Bajaj and Joint Commissioner Rajneesh Seth were present at the blast site.
Also present were members of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad and a forensic team.
The second explosion was reported in a car in central Mumbai's Dadar area.
The vehicle parked near the Dadar Hanuman Mandir bus stop was a private vehicle. The blast at Dadar, according to ACP Madhukar Sankhe, has taken place inside the meter box on the bus stop and the car was parked near it. The number of the grey car is MH-43 A 9384. The entire bus stop has been reportedly blown up.
"We are verifying the nature of explosions. At this moment I cannot say anything more than this," Tamboli said.
A third blast was reported from Opera House in Charni Road. The blast occurred outside a building named City Chamber. Ten people have died in the blast, claim reports.
The critically injured have been taken to Harkishan Das Hospital at Girgaum.
Jayesh Labdi, a local diamond merchant, who claimed to have taken several inured to the hospital, said the blast occurred at peak hour. "Most of the injured were hawkers," he said.
The blast in Opera House has left jewellers in the area petrified.
The limbs and legs of victims still are still scattered at blast site. This being an area where diamond traders do business, so there is a possibility of diamonds being scattered in the blast. Police have cordoned off the entire area.
Ankit Jhaveri told rediff.com, "At around 7.05pm we were shaken up to hear the blasts. I have never heard such sound before."
Vikram Balerao, a resident of Ambedvadi, which is situated barely 30 metres from the blast site at Opera House, was one of the few volunteers who took the injured to the nearest Saifee hospital. He said he saw many people without limbs and legs.
Since there were no stretchers available immediately, they used tarpaulin sheets to ferry the injured to the hospital.
Teams of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad and the National Investigative Agency have rushed to the spot.
