Hyderabad, July 13: The blasts that rocked Mumbai were a “coordinated attack by terrorists”, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday of the three explosions that left about people dead and over 100 injured.
“The blasts took place between 6.45pm and 7pm and therefore we infer from this that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists,” the home minister said.
He said teams of forensic and security experts were being rushed to the blast sites to coordinate with Mumbai Police for investigations.
He said the elite anti-terror force, the National Security Guard (NSG), which has a hub in Mumbai, is on standby.
“One Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team from Delhi and one CFSL team from Hyderabad have been rushed to Mumbai by special aircraft. The team from Delhi will take off shortly,” he said.
The home minister said a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA), the premier terror probe agency, was already in Mumbai in connection with another investigation.
“They have been asked to associate with Mumbai Police investigation. Another NIA team led by an inspector general is also being rushed to Mumbai.”
“I have spoken to the chief minister and he is coordinating the relief and rescue operations,” he said.
He also said that there was no report of any other blast or threat. “Mumbai has been put on high alert and I appeal to the people to remain calm and maintain peace.”
“All injured have been evacuated to hospitals. The number of injured could rise,” he said.
–Agencies