Blast at Varanasi's Dashashwamedh Ghat,1 killed and 37 injured on 07/12/2010

VARANASI: A two-year-old girl was killed and At least 37 people including four foreigners were injured in a blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat here during the Ganga arati around 6.30pm on Tuesday. Many others were injured in the ensuing stampede. According to official sources, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been recovered from a dustbin at the Varanasi blast site.

The girl identified as Sarita Sharma, who was with her mother for the prayers, died at Marwari hospital after the blast, according to IG(Varanasi) R P Singh. She was around two years, he said. It was not immediately known whether she suffered injuries in the explosion or in the stampede

The Ganga arati, which stretches across the Shitala, Dashashwamedh and Prayag ghats, is a daily ritual attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom are foreigners. The ghats are near the famous Vishwanath temple.

A statewide alert has been sounded, ADG Brij Lal said.

The blast on Tuesday occurred on the stairs of Dashashwamedh ghat and was so powerful that big boulders on the stairs were thrown many metres away, eyewitnesses said.

The DIG of Varanasi range, Prem Prakash, said that the crowd was targeted. The injured have been taken to various hospitals in the city, including the district hospital.

The home ministry has sounded a nationwide alert with special stress on four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - in wake of the blast in Varanasi. "A general alert has been sent to all state governments and they have been asked to stay on high alert," Union Home Secretary G K .Pillai said in New Delhi.
"It was low intensity blast which occurred at about 6.20 pm in which three-four people were injured. Subsequently we understand there could have been a stampede...as a result 15-20 people were injured. So roughly 20-30 people injured," he said.
According to home ministry sources, alerts have been issued to the four metropolis in particular.
They said a high-level team of the National Investigation Agency is also likely to visit the holy town.
Secretary for Internal Security at MHA, U K Bansal said, "We had alerted Uttar Pradesh Police sometime back. I am sure the UP police will take it as a challenge. There is no reason for panic."


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