NEW DELHI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A day after five low-intensity bomb blasts rocked the western Indian city of Pune, authorities Thursday said that initial probe suggests that the serial explosions were a "planned and coordinated" act.
Five explosions took place in quick succession in the university city late Wednesday evening, injuring at least two people. A sixth bomb was reportedly defused by police. One explosion took place at a theater on a busy road, where India's newly appointed Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was slated to visit but canceled it at the last moment.
"Since the blasts have taken place within an area of 500 meters and within a span of 45 minutes, it appears to be a coordinated act. I am sure there was a plan behind it," Indian Home Secretary R.K. Singh told the media in the national capital.
Indicating that a terror attack could not be ruled out, Singh said federal investigators were examining the two unexploded devices which were found on the busy Jangli Maharaj Road area where three of the blasts occurred.
"There are three detonators in each (of the devices). Investigation is on. We are making progress," the home secretary added.
Local TV channels reported that investigators suspect that Indian Mujahideen (IM) -- the homegrown terrorist outfit -- could be behind the blasts on a day when India got a new home minister taking took over from P. Chidambaram who has been appointed as finance minister.
However, investigations into the explosions have also hit their first hurdle as close circuit cameras at two of the blast sites were not working. The cameras at the Dena Bank and the McDonald's restaurant were found to be non-functional, the reports said.
In February 2010, some 15 people were killed and over 60 others injured, including an Italian woman, two Sudanese students and an Iranian student, when a bomb exploded at the German Bakery in Pune. The bakery is popular with students and foreigners frequenting the city.
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