Home Secretary confirms blast death toll is 12, assures medical aid to injured

New Delhi, Sep.8 (ANI): Union Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh on Thursday confirmed that twelve people had died so far in Wednesday's blast outside the Delhi High Court, and promised that the injured would be given the best possible medical assistance.

The scene outside the Delhi High Court was eerily quiet as police personnel and officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) examined the blast site.

A few lawyers entered the court premises but not without first being frisked near the barricades by police personnel.

Singh clarified the number of casualties and confirmed the final figures of injured in the hospital to mediapersons in New Delhi.

"The number of patients that were brought to this hospital was 57. There are 33 now. Two were transferred to AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences). I am telling you the breakup of these 33 patients. In the surgical ward, there are 12 patients; in ICU there are 19, and 2 in new nursing home. Four of them are critical. 12 are dead," said Singh.

The Interior Secretary emphasised that the government shall extend every possible medical support to the injured.

"Government has decided, and we have told hospital that whatever they need, that will be given. Any expert they need from anywhere that will be provided even from other hospitals, either in Delhi or outside Delhi. So, whatever experts and assistance are needed, it will be given," added Singh.

Meanwhile, Indian police detained three people for questioning on Thursday, including the owner of an Internet cafe in Indian administered Kashmir. Media reports claim that the suspected mail was sent, early on Wednesday, from this Internet caf?.

A powerful bomb, weighing 2 kg and hidden in a briefcase outside the main entrance of the High Court, killed 12 people on Wednesday.

Indian authorities are investigating the claim of responsibility allegedly made in the email by the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HUJI) militant group, an al Qaeda affiliate with bases in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The militant group has claimed responsibility for attacks in India in the past.

Security sources in Indian Kashmir, who declined to be identified, have raised doubts about whether HUJI was behind the blast, saying the group had not been active in the region for some time and would not have used an Internet cafe to send a claim of responsibility.

Several Islamist groups have been fighting against Indian rule of the disputed region of Kashmir for years. (ANI)