Date:03/12/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/03/stories/2002120304260100.htm

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3 killed in Mumbai blast

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI Dec. 2.

The bus in which a bomb went off at Ghatkopar, Mumbai, on Monday killing three persons and injuring 28.

A blast late this evening in a stationary double-decker bus in suburban Ghatkopar killed at least three persons and injured 28, six of them seriously, throwing the entire area into panic and confusion.

An eyewitness said the bus was empty and passengers were just beginning to board it when the blast ripped the entire rear portion.

Security stepped up

A team of experts from New Delhi is arriving here tomorrow to investigate the blast, which occurred four days prior to December 6, which marks the tenth anniversary of the demolition of the structure in Ayodhya.

The Maharashtra Government beefed up security across Mumbai City, including places of worship, soon after the blast, described as "quite powerful". All services on the central railway suburban section were halted for some time.

Bombs recovered in Andheri

Police tonight recovered some "explosives" from a bus at the SEEPZ industrial area at Andheri.

Confirming the seizure of explosives, the Minister of Home, Kripashankar Singh, told PTI that the exact nature of the material was yet to be ascertained. The ``explosives'' were found in an empty BEST bus and bomb disposal squad has rushed to the site.