Bengaluru, April 17: Two low-intensity improvised explosive devices with timers were detonated within a span of 15 minutes at gates 2 and 12 at Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday afternoon, injuring at least 15 people, including six policemen on duty at the stadium for the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians.

The crude bombs contained gelatin sticks and shrapnel, which seriously injured at least three people, who were admitted to the surgical ICU of Mallya Hospital with “missile” injuries to their scalps and chests.
While the timer device for Gate 12 on Cubbon Road went off at 2.50 pm, the second one, at Gate 2 near Anil Kumble Circle, went off at 3.05 pm. Three hours later a third suspected bomb was found at Gate 8 and defused by the bomb squad. According to sources, it was timed to go off at around 8 pm, when the match was scheduled to get over.
Forensic experts collected the explosive material from the spot for analysis. According to sources, the crude bombs reportedly contain ammonium nitrate as the primary explosive along with gelatin sticks and shrapnel. The sound of the blast was so deafening that it impacted the hearing of six policemen who are now admitted to hospital.
The policemen who combed the entire stadium and its periphery failed to spot the detonators that set off the crude IEDs. “We are on the lookout for the detonators, which will give us some clues,” said a senior police officer.
According to preliminary investigations, the modus operandi is similar to the serial blasts in July 2008 in which one person was killed and several injured. The only difference is that while in 2008 the low-intensity explosives concealed in cement flower pots were planted at various places across Bengaluru, on Saturday the IEDs were                          
planted at the periphery of the stadium wall where the IPL match was on. The timing of the bombs was perfect — from 2.50 pm and 3.05 pm, when the crowd starts pouring in to watch the 4 pm match, and at 8 pm, when the match concludes and the crowd spills out of the stadium.
The crude bombs were clearly planted by people with access to the stadium’s security because they were cleverly concealed at places which cannot be accessed by an ordinary visitor.
This is the second time in less than two years that serial blasts have been executed in Bengaluru using low-intensity bombs. The objective behind 2008 and these blasts is not mass killing but to create chaos and divert the attention of the security agencies from a bigger terror attack elsewhere in the country, experts said. Saturday’s blasts were reportedly meant to create a stampede leading to casualties.

Age Correspondents