It is a terror strike: DGP

Describing the twin bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar in the city on Thursday evening as terror attacks, director-general of police V Dinesh Reddy has, however, said he cannot hazard a guess as to who was responsible for it.

“We cannot say anything now. If we point our fingers at someone, it will be too premature,” he said but added that the culprits and those who were behind the blasts would be apprehended and punished in accordance with the law.

To a question Dinesh Reddy said that there were alerts from the Centre  but they were general in nature. “There were no specific alerts for Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

The DGP exuded confidence that there would be progress in the investigation since the NIA and the post-blast team of the NSG would be doing the investigation. The state police too would simultaneously conduct its investigation, he said. “The counter-terrorist teams of Octopus and dog squads are already on the job.”

The DGP said improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the blasts. The powerful explosive was kept in bags which were tied to two bicycles. In the first blast, which occurred at about 6.55 pm, eight people died on the spot and in the second, which took place in close proximity immediately thereafter, three more died. “There are 85 injured victims in hospitals,” he said. Those who were injured critically were being shifted to corporate hospitals. “The government will bear the entire cost of the treatment to the victims,” the DGP said.

Dinesh Reddy appealed to people not to panic as the police had no information about the possibility of more blasts. “We are leaving no stone unturned in zeroing on the culprits,” he said.