Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Blast rocks Hubli JMFC court

TERROR TACTICS: A view of the JMFC Court in Hubli after the blast on Saturday.

HUBLI: A blast in the court hall suspected to be triggered by a remote controlled explosive device sent shockwaves across Hubli on Friday.

The blast occurred in the Judicial Magistrate First Class (First Court) Hall where the proceedings pertaining to the terror suspects and alleged SIMI activists were being conducted for the last few months.

According to eye witnesses, the blast occurred around 1.10 p.m. and could be heard 400 metres away from the court complex.

Soon after the blast, thick smoke billowed out of the court hall.

However, there was no casualty as the court was closed on account of second Saturday.

On hearing the sound, several people rushed to the spot. They saw shattered furniture, including the witness box, chairs, window panes and the door thrown out of the court hall. Some lawyers had been in the building behind the court complex getting their case papers typed.

The police evacuated the people from the court premises and blocked the road leading to the court complex.

K.N. Deshpande, an advocate who reached the court premises a few minutes after the blast, said: “All I saw there was broken pieces of furniture before the police sent us away,” he said. According to Commissioner of Police Narayan Nadamani initial investigation revealed that the explosive device was planted below the box where the accused stood in the JMFC (First Court) hall and he said it might have been triggered by a remote device.

The Commissioner told presspersons that preliminary investigation pointed towards the involvement of suspected terrorists in the blast. But he hastened to add that it was too early to come to any conclusion.

The Federation of Bar Associations of Karnataka has condemned the blast. In a press release in Bangalore on Saturday, the federation appealed to the Home Ministry of the State to conduct a probe and punish the offenders. The federation has also urged the State Government machinery to provide adequate security to the courts in the State.

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