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Blast at Varanasi’s Dashashwamedh Ghat, 20 injured

07 December 2010 23:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least 20 people including four foreigners were injured in a blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat here during the Ganga arati around 6.30pm on Tuesday. Many others were injured in the ensuing stampede. According to official sources, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been recovered from a dustbin at the Varanasi blast site, APA reports quoting The Times Of India.

The Ganga arati, which stretches across the Shitala, Dashashwamedh and Prayag ghats, is a daily ritual attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom are foreigners. The ghats are near the famous Vishwanath temple.

A statewide alert has been sounded, ADG Brij Lal said.

The blast on Tuesday occurred on the stairs of Dashashwamedh ghat and was so powerful that big boulders on the stairs were thrown many metres away, eyewitnesses said.

The DIG of Varanasi range, Prem Prakash, said that the crowd was targeted. The injured have been taken to various hospitals in the city, including the district hospital.