Two pilgrims were killed and at least 14 others, including a child, were injured in a terrorist attack when a low intensity crude bomb went off at the renowned Sufi shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on Thursday evening. Thousands had gathered at the spot to break the day-long Ramzan fast when the blast went off just after 6.15 pm.
Two persons died on the spot, one of them being 45-year-old Mohammed Sohaib, a pilgrim from Mumbai. Fourteen others were injured in the blast near the Aasthan-e-Noor, opposite Begum Ki Dhalan, when people had gathered for iftar, Ajmer divisional commissioner Deepak Upreti said.
The crude bomb, planted near a tree at Aasthan-e-Noor, went off a minute after the fasting period ended at 6.16 pm, he said.
One Syed Saleem, 42, of Tolichowki in Hyderabad, is suspected to have died in the blast, according to city police, who are in touch with their Ajmer counterparts.
Rajasthan home secretary V.S. Singh said that of the 14 people taken to hospital, one had been discharged after first aid and the condition of 11 were normal. Two of the injured were in critical condition.
Entry into the dargah was restricted immediately after the blast, and people were being screened. The shops in the vicinity of the shrine had been ordered shut.
Lakhs of devotees from all religions and faiths visit the shrine. This is the first blast to have taken place there. "It is a sad day in our history... I am weeping," said F.S. Hassan Chishti, a khadim (shrine keeper). Senior Rajasthan government officials have rushed to the blast site, and a team of forensic experts have also begun investigations.
The police sources said a number of terrorist outfits, including the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toyyaba, were against Sufi Islam and were being regarded as prime suspects.
Two persons died on the spot, one of them being 45-year-old Mohammed Sohaib, a pilgrim from Mumbai. Fourteen others were injured in the blast near the Aasthan-e-Noor, opposite Begum Ki Dhalan, when people had gathered for iftar, Ajmer divisional commissioner Deepak Upreti said.
The crude bomb, planted near a tree at Aasthan-e-Noor, went off a minute after the fasting period ended at 6.16 pm, he said.
One Syed Saleem, 42, of Tolichowki in Hyderabad, is suspected to have died in the blast, according to city police, who are in touch with their Ajmer counterparts.
Rajasthan home secretary V.S. Singh said that of the 14 people taken to hospital, one had been discharged after first aid and the condition of 11 were normal. Two of the injured were in critical condition.
Entry into the dargah was restricted immediately after the blast, and people were being screened. The shops in the vicinity of the shrine had been ordered shut.
Lakhs of devotees from all religions and faiths visit the shrine. This is the first blast to have taken place there. "It is a sad day in our history... I am weeping," said F.S. Hassan Chishti, a khadim (shrine keeper). Senior Rajasthan government officials have rushed to the blast site, and a team of forensic experts have also begun investigations.
The police sources said a number of terrorist outfits, including the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toyyaba, were against Sufi Islam and were being regarded as prime suspects.
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