Government today said all groups hostile to India are on the radar in the probe into the Mumbai terror attack. Talking to media after visiting the sites of the the three serial blasts, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram made it clear that it is too early to point a finger at any one group. In a joint news conference with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the Home Minister said, there was no intelligence failure prior to the blasts. He said, there was no intelligence input either with the Central or the state agencies of an imminent attack. Mr Chidambaram, however added that Indians live in the most troubled neighbourhood in the world and therefore all cities in India are vulnerable to attack. Giving details about investigations carried out since last night, Chidambaram said ammonium nitrate, an explosive substance, was used in the IEDs triggered by timer devices. He ruled out the use of remote control to trigger the blasts in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar areas. In reply to a question, Mr Chidambaram said, India will not be cowed down by the attacks and the country continue to work and grow and prosper. The Minister also assured that the blasts were not targetted against any foreigners or tourist visiting India. He said, the target is India's unity, integrity and prosperity. Mr Chidambaram confirmed that 18 people have been killed in the blasts, while 131 got injured. All the injured have been admitted to13 hospitals in Mumbai and out of 131 injured, 26 have been discharged, 23 have suffered major injuries and 82 are in a stable condition. He said, out of the 23 seriously injured, some are in a critical condition.The Home minister has appealed to people to not look at the serial bomb blasts as an attack on India’s commercial capital because the sites are not chosen because of their commercial feasibility. He said that these sites have been chosen by the terrorists because of the thick density of population. He also confirmed that according to preliminary examinations three explosions have occurred in the city, the first blast that occurred at Dadar was a low intensity blast , thelater blasts that followed at Javeri Bazaar and Opera House were of medium to high intensity.The Chief Minister of Mharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, has announced a compensation of 5 lakh rupees to the deceased victims and rupees 50,000 rupees to the injured. He has confirmed that all the medical expenses of the victims will be borne by the Maharashtra state Government. Our correspondent reports that the attacks were the worst terror strike in the country since the Mumbai carnage that killed 166 people in November 2008. Meanwhile, Investigation teams and Forensic experts have arrived in Mumbai last night from New Delhi and Hyderabad and they have completed the collection of evidence.
News On AIR | July 14, 2011 2:01 PM
Mumbai blast: Hostile groups are on radar of investigators says govt