Blasts target capital's markets, business hubs

NEW DELHI: The five blasts that shook the national capital on Saturday evening targeted prime business and commercial centres that were bustling with shoppers and those returning home from work.

The Gaffar market in central Delhi's Karol Bagh, where the first blast occurred around 6.15 p.m., is known for its imported goods and mobile handsets. It attracts more crowds on weekends.

Three blasts occurred in Connaught Place, the business and commercial centre in the heart of New Delhi. One bomb was defused in the area later in the evening.

The fifth blast took place at the upscale M-block market in Greater Kailash in south Delhi.

For security reasons, police asked shopkeepers in these areas as well as in other popular markets like the one in Sarojini Nagar to down their shutters. Over 50 people were killed in a horrific blast in the Sarojini Nagar market Oct 29, 2005.

Another blast had ripped through the congested Paharganj area of central Delhi on the same day.