7 injured in Thane hall blast

[sokul]

THANE: Seven persons were injured when a crude bomb exploded in the parking area of Gadkari Rangayatan, a landmark auditorium near the Masunda lake, on Wednesday evening. The blast occurred a few minutes before a show of the play, Amhi Pachpute, was to start at 4.30 pm. The police believe that a timer was used in the explosion.

Five of the injured were employed with the auditorium. An engineering student, who had gone to see the play, and a youngster who was passing by were also wounded in the blast. The theatre was built around 35 years ago and mostly staged Marathi plays.

The blast occurred around 4.10 pm in the parking area, which caused the false ceiling to come crashing down. Iron nails were lying scattered at the scene, suggesting that it was a crude bomb.

As news of the blast spread across the city, people thronged the Rangayatan to see what had happened. The police had a tough time controlling the mob and traffic had to be diverted. A sniffer dog and the bomb disposal squad were also pressed into action.

Police chief Anil Dhere, along with TMC commissioner Nandkumar Jantre and district collector S S Zende, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. "The entire stage shuddered from the impact of the blast. We are disturbed as it is the second untoward incident to take place during the screening of our drama," said Ramesh Chandane, one of the actors. On May 31, a crude bomb was found at a Vashi hall where the same play was being staged.

Haresh Modak, a technician, was the first to spot a white plastic carrybag near a wall of the parking lot. But by the time he alerted security guard Sridhar Sakpal, the bomb exploded. Modak, though, was not injured.

Vivek Mhatre, a carpenter, said, "I was just 2 ft away when the blast occurred." He was taken to a private hospital, where he was operated on to remove splinters from the abdomen. Sakpal was hurt when he went to check the carrybag.

"I was waiting for a friend after buying the ticket," said Someshwar Mahajan, an engineering student. He was sitting on a chair when the bomb went off behind his back.

Mahajan got himself admitted to the civil hospital; the nails used in the bomb had pierced his back. Umesh Jadhav, a resident of Bhandup, was loitering near the theatre when the bomb went off.

Pankaj Khamkar, a member of the cast, said, "We immediately realised that it was a bomb blast and rushed out with our drapery on.” Electrician Kishore Surve, booking clerk Swapnil Dalvi and doorkeeper Rajesh Salvi were the other injured.

The theatre has a surveillance facility involving CCTVs and a metal detector. The authorities said they had the pictures of the blast.

Dhere told TOI, "We are not ruling out the possibility of a terror angle. We are also looking into the play’s content." The preliminary probe ruled out the use of explosives.

"There were no usual evidences like damage to the floor," said collector Zende.

Two killed in road accidents KR Puram, which is known to be an accident-prone area, witnessed two fatal accidents. On Thursday morning, Santosh (26), a partner in a computer shop at RT Nagar, was on his way to work when a canter knocked him down. He was a resident of Kalkere.

In the other incident, a biker hit a fallen tree and died of head injuries. A nilgiri tree near the Graphite India main road was uprooted due to the rain. It proved fatal for Raghavendra (35).

[sokul]