Woman killed, 3 injured in explosion outside B'luru restaurant

BENGALURU: One person died while another was injured in an explosion triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Sunday in front of a popular restaurant on a busy road in the heart of the city. The blast occurred at 8.40 pm near Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Street, which is dotted with bars and restaurants teeming with crowds on weekends.

A man and a woman were hit by shrapnels, city police commissioner MN Reddi said. The woman identified as Bhavani, aged 38 and hailing from Tamil Nadu, later succumbed to head injuries at the Mallya Hospital. The second person, identified as Karthik, is out of danger, he added.

Reddi has formed a special investigation team to probe the blast and identify the people and organisations behind it. He, however, said no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Union Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who was the first minister to reach the spot, announced all help from the Centre in conducting the investigations.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah and assured him that all help will be given. Singh said the CM apprised him of the situation.

“Spoke to Karnataka CM Shri S Siddaramaiah regarding the Bangalore blast. He apprised me of the situation. Centre ready to provide all help,” Singh tweeted. Reddi said that “at about 8:40 pm on the Church street – outside Coconut Grove – there was an explosion heard…we have found that there was IED that was used by some culprits.”. The entire area has been cordoned off.

A Home Ministry official said the Centre was in constant touch with the Karnataka government and an NIA team would be visiting the spot. "There were online threats sent to Bengaluru Police after the arrest of ISIS Twitter propagandist Mehdi Biswas earlier this month. All angles will be looked into," an official said.