In Maharashtra, terror struck Pune yesterday evening as a powerful bomb ripped apart a popular bakery near a Jewish prayer house, killing nine people. Over 57 people have been injured. The condition of three is stated to be critical. The improvised explosive device, kept in an unattended packet outside the kitchen of the German bakery, exploded at around 7.30 pm when a waiter attempted to open it.The state police, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad and forensic experts from the state government are conducting investigations. A team of forensic specialists of the CBI from Delhi is to assist the Maharashtra police in their investigations. A team of of the National Investigation Agency is also being rushed. The Maharashtra government has announced a compensation of one lakh rupees to the kin of the deceased in the Pune bomb blast.<br/><br/>Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has described the blast as a significant terrorist incident since the Mumbai attacks 14 months ago. Mr. Chidambaram told mediapersons in Chennai that the Centre had sensitized the Maharashtra government and the police that the Chabad House was a target of terrorists and yesterday's incident took place just a few metres away from the Chabad House. The Home Minister asked the media not to speculate and give some time to the government to gather forensic evidence and draw some conclusions . He said, they should go by the official statement that are put out. The Home Minister arrived in Pune this morning and visited the blast site. He also visited Sassoon hospital where the injured have been admitted.<br/><br/>Briefing media persons about the blast, the Home Secretary Mr. G. K Pillai said in New Delhi that the German bakery is a favourite food joint for foreigners, located close to Osho Ashram which had been surveyed by Pakistani-origin American David Coleman Headley, a Lashkar-e Taiba operative.He said that the Maharashtra police had been alerted about this on 12th October . He however said that till the investigations are completed nothing can be said about who was behind the blast.<br/><br/>Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said late last night that security in Mumbai and other parts of the state has been tightened. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai he said, leaves of all policemen across the state have been cancelled. Mr. Chavan said security has also been tightened at all the locations which were surveyed by Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley in Mumbai, Pune and other places.<br/><br/>Referring to a central alert in October last year warning of a possible terror strike in Pune, Chavan said that there was complete co-ordination between the state and central security apparatus. But he declined to comment on the possibility of involvement of known terror groups as being responsible for the blast as the investigations are on.