A day after eight blasts hit Bangalore in an attack police downplayed given that only one person was killed, terror struck Ahmedabad this evening with an unprecedented frequency — as many as 16 blasts in almost 90 minutes that left 29 dead and over 100 injured. The attacks were the first in the city after the Akshardham terror strike six years ago.

The Gujarat government today called in the Army and deployed all available battalions of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in the affected areas. Police and the RAF began combing and cordoning off of most off the affected areas by midnight. Fear and panic and the news that even hospitals hadn’t been spared kept most people indoors leaving the city deserted tonight.

Most of the blasts were reported from the crowded old city areas east of river Sabarmati, including at least three in Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Maninagar. Like in Jaipur, police said, the blasts were carried out using bombs planted on cycles parked in crowded market areas. Most blasts were of low intensity, fitted with timer devices, and used ammonium nitrate and gelatin sticks as the explosive material, according to preliminary forensic investigations, said Home Department sources. The targets were carefully chosen with areas typically crowded in the evening. Most of these areas are inhabited by low-wage industrial labour from outside Gujarat.

The blasts began at around 6.35 pm with the first reported from Hatkeshwar circle. Harshad Patel, an eyewitness to this blast, said he saw a man parking his cycle and asking the fruit vendor the rates of apples and then left the place. The blast occurred within minutes of the incident leaving two dead on the spot, while one died on reaching the hospital.

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