Mumbai, July 14 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday described Wednesday's three serial explosions Mumbai as unfortunate and warned that every city of India was vulnerable to coordinated attacks by terrorists.
Addressing a joint press conference with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan here, Chidambaram said that a remote control device triggered off the explosions.
He said that ammonium nitrate was used in the explosions and added that it was unfortunate that in recent times, Pune and Mumbai had been the prime targets of the terrorists.
He said that various investigative teams were on the job to find forensic evidence to pinpoint who or what group was actually responsible for the explosions. He also said that in the 31 months since 26/11, the actionable response to such terror incidents and their aftermath had been praiseworthy.
"The three blasts, which ripped through the bustling Mumbai was timed just a few minutes apart with the first taking off at 6:45 p.m. Therefore, we infer this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Chidambaram said.
Expressing deep regret over the incident, Chidambaram said: "No intelligence inputs about yesterday's blast are with the central and state agencies."
"All terror outfits that are capable of carrying out such attacks are suspects," he added.He said the National Security Guard (NSG) hub in Mumbai has been put on standby and that the elite force's 'post-blast' team has also been sent to the city.
The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) teams from both here and Hyderabad are in Mumbai, he said.
Requesting the media to give correct figures, Chidambaram said: "The death toll has been confirmed at 17. We have found one severed head, which will take the toll up to 18."
According to him, 131 have been admitted to 13 hospitals, of which 26 have been discharged and 82 have been said to be stable. Of the 131, 23 are critically injured.
He also said that there was no intelligence failure and that foreigners in the country were not being targeted. What was being targeted was the integrity and territorial sovereignty of India. There were terror groups and vested interests that did not want India to prosper and grow as a nation, he added.
The three serial blasts rocked Zaveri Bazaar, a popular jewellery market, at 6.50 p.m. Another blast shook the busy business area around Opera House. A third blast ripped through the crowded Dadar area of Central Mumbai at 7.04 p.m. (ANI)
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