A day after the blast at a private hospital in Agra, police in the city of the Taj Mahal hunted for clues, refusing to rule out the possibility of terrorist involvement.
Uttar Pradesh special director general of police Brijlal on Sunday said all angles in the low-intensity blast at Jai Hospital, which injured four persons, were being probed.
He did not rule out the possibility of personal enmity or rivalry between hospitals being the reason for the blast.
But the hospital's owner, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Manvendra Sharma, rejected such theories.
At the time of going to press no one had been detained in connection with the blast.
Brijlal said the blast was triggered by a mixture normally used in firecrackers. Potassium chlorate, sulphur and charcoal were used in the explosive device kept in a container. He said the crude bomb had no timer.
Police have enhanced the reward announced for information on those involved in the blast from Rs50,000 to Rs1 lakh.
Union minister of state for home Jitendra Singh and state panchayati raj minister Swami Prasad Maurya inspected the blast site.
{{/usCountry}}Union minister of state for home Jitendra Singh and state panchayati raj minister Swami Prasad Maurya inspected the blast site.
{{/usCountry}}Singh announced a compensation of Rs50,000 each to the injured from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
Chief minister Mayawati announced Rs1 lakh financial assistance to each of the injured.
The blast, 6 km from the Taj Mahal, however, did not affect flow of foreign and domestic tourists to the 17th century monument.
Following the blast, the police had issued high alert across the state. The anti-terrorist squad and special task force are assisting the local police in the probe.
With agency inputs