The police uses sniffer dogs to inspect the blast site at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, on Friday. — Reuters

Hyderabad, May 18
Nine persons were killed and 50 injured in a bomb blast inside the historic Mecca Masjid here during the Friday prayers. Another three were killed in a police firing to control a mob, which indulged in pelting policemen with stones after the blast.

The explosion, reminiscent of Malegaon blasts in Maharashtra, occurred at 1.30 pm near a water tank inside the mosque complex.

A crude bomb, placed inside a tiffin box, was set off using a mobile phone, which was recovered by the police, the Andhra Pradesh director-general of police (DGP) M.A. Basith said.

Two more live bombs were found at the spot and were soon defused by the police, averting what could have been a major tragedy.

The bomb blast triggered tension in the communally sensitive old city areas with a large number of agitators resorting to stone throwing and arson, targeting policemen and public properties. The sprawling, 400-year-old mosque was teeming with the faithful when the explosion ripped through the front portion of the complex. Panic-stricken people ran for cover.

The eyewitnesses said the blast occurred when thousands of Muslims were about to complete their afternoon Namaz. The bomb was hidden under a stone bench on the vast premises of the mosque, located close to the historic Charminar.

As tempers ran high, raising fears of communal violence, Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed and the area was cordoned off. A red alert was sounded across the state soon after the blast and all routes leading to the sensitive old city were sealed.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who was on a visit to Delhi, said the blast was an “intentional sabotage” to disturb communal harmony and peace. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 20,000 to each of the injured. Appealing to people to remain calm and not give credence to rumours, Reddy said a thorough investigation was on to identify the perpetrators of the crime.

He admitted that there were “some intelligence inputs” from the union home ministry sometime back about the possible terror strike. State home minister K. Jana Reddy, who was prevented from visiting the blast site by an angry mob, said “some foreign terrorist elements” could have planned the attack.

After the blast, hundreds of angry protesters took to streets near Charminar, attacked a petrol bunk and policemen and raised slogans against the police. The police opened fire into the air to disperse the crowd at Pista House, about 1 km from Charminar.

The Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has considerable influence in the old city, has given a bandh call for tomorrow. Four persons died on the spot while another person succumbed to injuries at Osmania General Hospital, where all injured were admitted. Four of them who were in serious condition have been shifted to the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences.

The shops and business establishments in most of the old city areas were closed and spontaneous demonstrations broke out in the Charminar, Moghulpura, Gowlipura, Lal Darwaza and Mehdipatnam areas. An unclaimed bag has been found at the blast site, which has been sent for forensic examination, city police commissioner Balwinder Singh told reporters at the spot.

Meanwhile, the Centre has offered assistance to the state government to bring the situation under control. Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta spoke to state chief secretary J. Harinarayana soon after the blast.