Mysuru: High alert has been sounded in Mysuru and Mandya following a low intensity blast reported at Hubballi Railway Station yesterday. Security has been beefed up at Railway Stations, Bus Stands and other public places to keep a vigil on suspicious movements and avoid possible untoward incidents.

In Mysuru, Police were seen keeping a close watch on public movements at City Railway Station, City Bus Stand, Sub Urban Bus Stand, Devaraja Urs Road, Sayyaji Rao Road and other prominent locations. Dog squads, bomb detection and disposal squads are being used for screening of parcels at Bus Stands and Railway Station. Check posts have also been setup at various entry points where the police are keeping a watch on vehicles entering and exiting the city. 

One injured in the blast

Meanwhile, one person was injured as an unclaimed parcel exploded at Hubballi Railway Station, the headquarters of South Western Railway, yesterday. The injured has been identified as Hussain Saab, 22, who is said to be an employee of a restaurant operating in the Railway Station. 

Sources said that an unclaimed parcel, found in one of the empty compartments of Vijayawada-Hubballi Amaravati Express, was picked up by Hussain Saab. Later, he arrived at Platform No. 1 to handover the bucket shaped parcel to Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel. Following instructions from RPF personnel, Hussain opened the parcel when it exploded at about 11.45 am. 

He suffered minor injuries on his hand and was soon rushed to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) where he is undergoing treatment. The blast also caused wreckage at the Station Master’s office as the window glass panes were shattered. 

On receiving information, Hubballi Police, Railway Police and other officials rushed to Railway Station and cordoned off the platform before carrying out an extensive checking. Sources also said that the parcel had a written message that read ‘Prakash Abhitkar, Budargadh taluk, Kolhapur district, MLA, Gargoti, MS State, ‘No BJP, No RSS’ which has led to a suspicion that the blast might be linked to the Maharashtra Assembly Polls that was held yesterday. Sources also said that the bucket shaped parcel had eight boxes with two explosives each and was shifted to a safer place to be defused later. 

Role of Bangladeshi immigrants suspected

Meanwhile, Minister for Medium and Large Industries Jagadish Shettar suspected the involvement of Bangladeshi immigrants and added that a high level investigation would be carried out to identify the culprits. 

It may be recalled that Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, during his recent visit to Mysuru, had mentioned about the presence of sleeper cells belonging to Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bengaluru, Mysuru and coastal districts.