Blast in Haryana Roadways bus in Kurukshetra, 8 hurt

At least eight passengers were injured in a low-intensity blast in a running bus of the Haryana Roadways on the national highway-1 near Pipli town in Kurukshetra district on Thursday afternoon.

At least eight passengers were injured in a low-intensity blast in a running bus of the Haryana Roadways on the national highway-1 near Pipli town in Kurukshetra district on Thursday afternoon.

The Sonepat depot bus (HR 69 B 6340), carrying 25 people, was going from Delhi to Chandigarh when the blast took place near Haryana Tourism’s resort Parakeet. Driver Sanjay Kumar stopped the vehicle on the roadside safely.

Kurukshetra superintendent of police (SP) Simardeep Singh said the injured, including the driver and conductor of the bus, were admitted to the civil hospitals at Kurukshetra and Pipli.

The SP said, “Forensic experts have been called to collect samples from the bus. The reason behind the blast could be ascertained only after the forensic examination.”

He said security had been beefed up in the region after the incident.

Talking to Hindustan Times, deputy superintendent of police (DSP-headquarters) Krishan Kumar said in the preliminary investigations, it was found that the blast was of low intensity and the explosives were kept in a bag. “It was a pre-planned blast and the bag was used to plant explosives in the bus,” he added.

This is the second blast in the region in the past two weeks. A blast had taken palace in a bogie of a stationary train at Panipat railway station on May 12. Earlier this year, another blast had taken place in a train at Panipat railway station on January 15.