"Following the Muzaffarnagar explosion we have put our police force on alert in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshar," said Chadra Prakash, inspector general of Uttar Pradesh Police (Meerut Range).

The explosion took place around 7 p.m. in a busy area in Babrala town in Muzaffarnagar, some 100 km from New Delhi.

"The blast took place in a box that contained a battery-like object," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pravin Kumar told IANS.

"As of now, we cannot tell the nature of explosive, but it can be confirmed that the incident has nothing to do with any terror outfit," SSP Kumar said.

Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Santosh Yadav said it was suspected that the material that caused the explosion was kept on a cycle.

A bomb disposal squad has been summoned from Meerut and the area has been cordoned off, Yadav said.

"It is being probed whether the bomb was meant to be used in local panchayat elections," said the district magistrate.