UP serial blasts claim 13 lives; 59 injured

After serial blasts in three cities of Uttar Pradesh, 13 people have died and 59 injured. All the blasts took place in court premises, as CNBC-TV18 reports.

Uttar Pradesh caught in a triangle of terror,  was the location of serial blasts that ripped through court houses in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi and timed with precision.

According to reports, each went off in a four minute period between 1:18 and 1:30 in the afternoon.

The three blasts in Varanasi killed 9, two in Faizabad killed 4 and one in Lucknow, where fortunately the crowds escaped death and injury. Initial investigations showed that the bombs were brought on cycles into the courts.

The bombs used were crude, filled with nails and ballbearings intended to cause maximum injuries. Intelligence agencies pointed to local sleeper cells who could have been activated to execute them.

Sriprakash Jaiswal, MoS Home, said, "If there are simultaneous attacks on 3 cities then it is clear that it is a planned move. Though it is not clear which group is responsible for this."

No terrorist organisation made a claim to the blasts, but investigators say they could be linked to lawyers jostling the alleged Jaish terrorists caught in Lucknow earlier this week.

They had claimed to have plotted the kidnapping of Rahul Gandhi to get some of their jailed men released. But that doesn't explain why the Varanasi and Faizabad courts were also hit -- the first time the judiciary was made a terror targert. The state government denied it had any prior information of the blasts.

UP Chief Minister, Mayawati lambasted the intelligents saying, "There was a complete intelligence failure."

The BJP also used the opportunity to hit out at the centre. But amidst the blame game that started within hours of the blasts, the big question is: will these blasts also end up unsolved like the several ones earlier?