Blast remains a mystery to people

Fire cracker or bomb, they keep guessing

Panic gripped the people in Old Delhi’s Naya Bazaar and the rest of the city when a powerful blast shattered the window panes and glass fittings of houses and shops situated in the over a century old pulses market.

The blast which took one life and injured four others was unlike those which happen when fire crackers explode, said shopkeepers and residents of Pattewali Gali in Naya Bazaar.

“Fire crackers explosion make loud simultaneous noises, but this one was one big blast. Besides, there is no fire cracker shop or market here,” said Rajendra Kaptaan, a grain merchant.

People who witnessed the blast said when the deceased Motalip Mirza put the bags in front of a shop called Saraswati Traders in the Pattewali Gali at the time the explosion took place.

The blast caused a cloud of smoke around the street with people started running helter-skelter thinking it was a terror strike. When the dust settled, the body of Mirza was found lying with face on the ground and tattered trousers. Manay were injured after being struck by glass shards and plastic parts.

“In was injured in the hand after the glass fitted on my door fell on my hand, due to the blast”, said Suresh Mandal, a shopkeeper.

Houses situated as high as four storey bore the impact of the blast with some had their air conditioner’s cover coming out, and the ones who were very near to the blast place had even their shutters got damaged.

Windshield of a car parked under a house got shattered when an entire window fell on it from above.

Around 20 house and shops around the area where the blast took place sustained minor or major damage.

However, the biggest impact of the blast was in the form of fear which gripped the area with people relating it to the several advisories which the police and the government had been sending out about possible terrorist attack.