Following a tip-off that some gangsters were to assemble at Ravindra Hotel at 7 pm, a police party from the Dahisar police station had laid a trap at the spot. However, when the team closed in on the gangsters around 6.55 pm and police constable Vilas More grabbed one of them, a bomb that the criminal was carrying went off killing both of them on the spot. Another constable, Navnath Shelar and two others - Jafar Ali and Arif Shaikh - who were nearby, too were killed. Police, however, were not sure till late evening if Jafar and Arif were among the gangsters or were just bystanders.

Taking advantage of the blast and the resulting bedlam, two of the criminals opened fire on other policemen and managed to escape. Assistant Police Inspector, Hemant Patil and Sub-inspector Anil Pawar wereinjured in the firing.

Eyewitnesses said the hotel lawn where the blast took place was littered with fragments of human flesh and clothes. There was blood all over and an acrid smell of death pervaded the air.

Experts from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and a dog squad reached the spot within minutes of the blast and some sophisticated machines were employed to collect the shrapnels and pieces of the explosive material. These have already been sent for forensic tests.

At the time of going to the press, the Bhagwati Hospital, where the injured were rushed to, said 17 persons, including two children, were treated of shrapnel injuries. While a majority of them are out of danger, two are stated to be critical.

Police cordoned off S V Road area and sealed Ravindra Hotel soon after the blast. Other shops and establishments in the area too downed their shutters for the day.

Police Commissioner R H Mendonca visited the spot late in the evening but refused to talk to the Press. ChiefMinister Manohar Joshi has announced an interim relief of Rs 2 lakh rupees each to the next of the kin of the deceased constables.