Terror Hits Goa, Red Alert Declared after Blast in Margao….
PANAJI: Goa has declared a red alert after explosives carried on a scooter by two men went off, killing one of them and critically injuring the other, in Margao town in southern part of the state. Officials have blamed a right-wing Hindu group for the incident.
One person was killed and another seriously injured in an explosion on a motorcycle at Margao in Goa late on Friday night.
Police say the initial information indicates the blast could have been on account of accidental explosion of gelatin sticks or crude bombs stored in the boot of the scooter.
The person killed, Malgunda Patil, is believed to be associated with a Hindu right-wing group, Sanathan Sansthan. Another person belonging to this group has been detained.
State Home Minister Ravi Naik said the scooter belonged to Nishad Bakhale, an alleged member of the Sanatan Saunstha, a right-wing Hindu group, headquartered in the temple town of Ramnathi in the Ponda region of Goa. Bakhale has been detained for questioning by the police.
Naik told reporters in Margao, some 35 km from here, that the police have searched the group's headquarters after the low intensity blast on Friday night.
Meanwhile, police said Malgondi Patil and Yogesh Naik, who were riding the Honda Eterno scooter, were members of the group.
Apparently, the group was against celebrating Naraka Chaturdasi, which comes a day before Diwali, where effigies of the mythological demon Narkaasur are burnt.
There is a red alert in the whole of Goa. Margao is Chief Minister Digambar Kamat's constituency.
The blast took place near the Grace Church in Margao, where some effigies of Narkasur, a mythical demon, were being burnt to celebrate the victory of good over evil as part of the Diwali festival.
Police superintendent Atmaram Deshpande said a red alert was declared after the blast and it would remain until the situation stabilises.
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