Two persons were killed and 17 injured in a blast in Mehrauli market in New Delhi [Images] on Saturday.

According to eye-witnesses, two men riding on a motorcycle dropped a black polythene bag in the market area and left. A 13-year-old boy Santosh Kumar picked up the bag to give it back to the bikers. They refused and fled the place, but the boy was still keen on giving it to them, when it exploded killing him instantaneously and injuring 18 others.

The injured victims were taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjung Hospital.

One of the injured -- a 60-year-old unidentified man whose cervical was badly fractured -- succumbed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences late in the evening, AIIMS sources said.

Delhi has been put on high alert.

The locals of Ward No. 8, where the blast took place, mostly shop-keepers, voiced their anger at the lax security arrangements in the national capital, in spite of the serial blasts two weeks ago.

The were also angry at the delayed response by the police forces, which reached the blast site late

"The public rushed the injured to AIIMS, not the police," said an eye-witness.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said that the party condemned the incident and paid its condolences to the victims. "This is a war against India and the government of India should deal firmly with the terrorists," he said.

Fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the spot. The shops in the locality were shut down.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil [Images], who received lot of stick because of September 13 serial bomb blasts, called an emergency meeting of senior officers, Intelligence Bureau, Research & Analysis Wing and Delhi police soon after the Mehrauli bomb blast around 2.15 pm to take stock of the situation and report to Sonia Gandhi [Images].

"I will ask my officers to brief you," Patil told journalists who wanted to know what he had to say about the law and order situation now, particularly when he is expected to review the terror situation in Shimla on Monday where chief ministers of norther states will participate.

"Special Branch is investigating the incident and after we get the information, we will share it with the media," Delhi police PRO Rajan Bhagat told rediff.com.

BJP's nominee for the post of Delhi chief minister Vijay Kumar Malhotra visited the site and expressed shock over the incident.

AIIMS trauma centre confirmed the death of two persons. Officers of the Delhi police requested the media not to speculate.

Former director general of Punjab police K P S Gill said that the blast looks to be a crude bomb blast.

"We will have to wait for more details. We need to rework our strategy against terrorists who are spreading terror by carrying out serial blasts in various cities," Gilll told rediff.com.

Delhi has been put on high alert and its units are looking out for two motorcycle-riding terrorists who carried out this attack as they were identified by the locals who saw them placing the bomb.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of the boy who was killed in the blast.

She said the Delhi government would also provide Rs 50,000 to each of the injured person and would give all necessary medical assistance free of charge to them.

Condemning the incident, she said, "It is sorry to hear that yet another blast has taken place in the city. Our government will give compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the dead and Rs 50,000 as well free treatment to those injured in the blast."

Dikshit visited the hospital to meet the injured soon after her arrival from New York, where she had gone to attend a UN-sponsored round-table discussion on environmental sustainability.

Additional Reportage: PTI 

Image: KBK Graphics

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