Pune blast toll rises to 17

The death toll in the February 13 German Bakery blast here rose to 17 with a 23-year-old woman succumbing to injuries on Friday night, hospital sources said.

The victim, Aditi Jindal, was from Chandigarh and undergoing treatment in Inlaks and Budhrani hospital, sources added.

A 21-year-old Sudanese student Anas AlFatih Suleiman passed away at Jehangir Hospital on February 24. He is the fourth foreigner to die in the blast that rocked the popular eatery in Koregaon Park.

The blast claimed lives of three other foreigners — a 26-year-old Sudanese student Amjad Elgazoli, an Italian woman Nadia Macerini and an Iranian man Sayyed Syed Khani — besides injuring more than 50 people.

Pune blast toll goes up to 16

A 21-year-old Sudanese student succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the February 13 Pune blast, raising the toll to 16, police said here on Wednesday.

The victim — Anaj Alfateh Sulaiman — was in the intensive care unit of the Jehangir Hospital here and breathed his last at 5.15 am on Wednesday, an official said, adding that arrangements were being made to hand over the body to his relatives.

Sulaiman, who was a first year BA student of Pune College, became the fifth foreign national who fell victim to the blast that ripped through the German Bakery in Koregaon Park area.

Presently, 13 people injured in the blast have been undergoing treatment in various city hospitals. Among them the condition of at least four is stated to be critical.

Meanwhile, police have tightened security all over Pune and are enforcing several measures, including prohibition on two-wheeler drivers and pillion riders wearing face masks and scarves.

Kolkata youth succumbs, Pune blast toll 14

A 23-year-old student from Kolkata, who was injured in the February 13 terror blast, died at a hospital here early Sunday, taking the toll to 14. Rajeev Agarwal was a final year law student of the Symbiosis Law College.

Six more patients continue to be critical in intensive care units of different city hospitals while 33 others are undergoing treatment for injuries.

Mr. Rajeev breathed his last at 5.45 a.m. in Jehangir Hospital here, an official from the Pune police control room said.

His body will be handed over to his father - who arrived here from Kolkata a few days ago - after completing the relevant formalities, the official said.

Four among those who lost their lives in the terror blast that ripped through the German Bakery in Koregaon Park area are foreigners.

Police have tightened security in all parts of Pune and implemented several measures in this regard, Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said here Saturday.

These include prohibiting two-wheeler drivers from covering their faces in any manner, including wearing face masks and scarves - a part of normal attire in Pune since the outbreak of Swine-flu in May last year.

A security sensitization programme has been undertaken in 103 educational institutions covering over 40,000 students in the past three days.

Combing operations are continuing in different parts of the city “or wherever there is suspicion,” Mr. Singh said.

9 killed, 40 injured in Pune bomb blast

In a major terror strike after the November 26, 2008 carnage in Mumbai, nine persons including four foreigners, all women, were killed and over 40 injured in a bomb blast which ravaged the famous German Bakery on North Main Avenue in Pune's Koregaon Park near the Osho Ashram around 7.30 pm on Saturday. Unofficial figures put the number of injured at 50.

Initially the police said it was a gas cylinder blast, but the explosion is now suspected to be an improvised explosive device (IED) using an ammonium nitrate fuel oil mix, with RDX as a booster, police sources said. About 7 kg explosives may have been used. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said preliminary reports indicated that it was a bomb blast.

An eyewitness who was travelling in an autorickshaw said he heard a loud explosion and blacked out. Another eyewitness said bodies were scattered and more than 10 were seen at the site. Four shops were damaged near the bakery, which has been there for 22 years.

The bag containing the bomb was said to be under a table, according to one account, and a waiter is said to have tried to open it. This caused the explosion which devastated the bakery, located near the Jewish Chabad House. A customer said he heard the blast, but escaped unhurt. There were bodies lying all around, he said.

Sources said the bakery was close to a hotel where Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley had stayed while visiting Osho Ashram. However, Headley did not recce this bakery.

Soon after the blast, an unidentified bag was found in an autorickshaw. It contained 7 kg of explosives.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has also reached Pune, apart from forensic experts. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will reach there by Sunday.

The blast has sent shockwaves in Pune, prompting a high alert in Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra. The police have been asked to look out for unattended baggage.

Joint Commissioner of Police Rajendra Sonawane said that prima facie it looked like a bomb blast.

Congress city president Abhay Chhajed confirmed the number of deaths. "I myself have seen six bodies at the Sassoon Hospital. There are more at other hospitals." He said the injured had been taken to Ruby Hall, Jehangir, Budhrani and Sassoon hospitals in the city.

The bakery is a popular spot with foreign tourists. Six or eight of the injured are said to be foreign nationals.

Mr. Chavan has announced ex gratia payment of Rs. 1 lakh to each of the families of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for the injured.

Security for the Indian and South African cricket teams has been tightened. The second test match is beginning in Kolkata on Sunday.

Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi said: "I appeal to the people of Pune to be calm. Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe, who is at the site, has confirmed to me that it was bomb blast. Further details are awaited."

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and other leaders have appealed for calm after the incident.

5 feared killed, 21 injured in Pune bakery blast

At least five people were feared to have been killed and 21, including foreigners, wounded in a blast at a popular bakery in Koregaon Park here this evening.

The blast took place at the German Bakery, an old business establishment, in a locality which also houses Osho Ashram frequented by foreigners.

A team of Anti-Terrorism Squad and bomb disposal squad visited the spot to ascertain the nature of the blast.