Explosion near BJP office in Bangalore, 16 hurt

Bangalore, April 17 (IANS) Sixteen people were injured, two of them seriously, in an explosion in a congested locality near the office of Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here Wednesday morning, police said, suspecting a bomb blast.

Several vehicles were gutted but there was no damage to the party office in the explosion that was initially believed to be a cylinder blast.

"The explosion took place around 10.20 a.m. and investigation is on to find out whether it is caused by a bomb as a motorbike was found at the site," Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar told reporters.

The BJP office is located in the crowded residential locality of Malleshwaram in north Bangalore, about eight kilometres from the city centre.

The two seriously injured are women, one of whom has a suffered fracture in her leg, doctors at the KC General hospital, about five kilometres from the explosion site, told reporters.

"The others have suffered minor injuries with two of them complaining of loss of hearing," the doctors said.

Of the 16 injured, 11 are police personnel and five are civilians, including three women, Home Minister R. Ashoka said at the explosion site.

The policemen were in the van that was gutted in the explosion.

Residents in the area told reporters that the blast shook the windowpanes of several houses.

"This act was to terrorise BJP and its workers," Ashoka said.

"We have sent a report to the central government," the minister added.