An explosion at the reception counter of a private hospital in Agra,less than 3 km from the Taj Mahal,at 5.40 pm today injured at least seven people,police said. In a report sent to the Union Home Ministry late tonight,sources said,UP DGP and Home Secretary said they were trying to ascertain if this was a terrorist incident or an attack by a business rival. The latter is being investigated,given the bitter rivalry between private hospitals in the area. A 12-Volt battery and an electric wire were found,suggesting the use of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED),police said. The 70-bed Jai Hospital,where the blast took place,is on the Agra-Kanpur Highway. The reception counter is on the first floor. There are no closed-circuit TV cameras in the vicinity. Its too early to predict anything but at least seven people were injured. We are questioning the receptionist who is also injured. The glass counter at the reception was shattered due to the impact, said P K Tiwari,Inspector General,Agra Police. Special DGP (Law & Order) Brij Lal and a team of the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) led by SSP G K Goswami examined the site. According to preliminary reports,the explosive was in a cloth bag under one of the seats. Tiwari said that three attendants of the patients suffered serious injuries. The injured include: Ajay Kumar (25) of Raqabganj area of Agra,Raj Kumar Jain (35) of Madhavganj area in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh and Pritam Singh (45) of Banna Devi area in Aligarh district.
