Shimla: NSG commandos cordon off eatery blast site

The blast left one dead and 13 others injured.

The NSG team, including a dozen commandoes, cordoned off the blast site around Mall Road at about 8 AM, a police officer said.

According to Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu, the NSG joined the investigation as per the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

State SIT is also conducting an investigation, and the police report is not out so far.

The blast occurred on Tuesday evening at Himachali Rasoi eatery, known for serving Himachali cuisines, located in Middle Bazaar adjacent to the fire brigade office in the heart of the town.

Police said the blast was apparently caused by a gas leak.

The DGP confirmed that a team from the National Bomb Data Centre of the NSG has come for the post-blast investigation to find out the cause of the explosion.

The place where the blast occurred was sensitive as it is near the Police Reporting Room.

The NSG specialises in this field and their services are being availed of to determine the cause of the blast according to the SOP of the government, he said.

The DGP had also visited the blast site day after the incident and said preliminary investigation and forensic examination have pointed out that the gas leak led to the blast.

Eyewitnesses and injured people have said the gas leak from two LPG cylinders led to the blast but more casualties were averted as the place was closed for maintenance.

However, the high intensity of the explosion that shattered windows of several shops and houses in the vicinity, with the sound of the explosion being heard miles away have raised suspicion that there can be more to the incident.

(With UNI Inputs)