Amidst the tight security force deputed in Mysuru for the last rites of CM Siddaramaiah's elder son Rakesh on Monday, a low-intensity blast went off at the court premises in the city, triggering a panic among the court staff, litigants and people living nearby. However, no casualties or injuries were reported.
The blast took place at a toilet located in a corner of the court premises, which is close to Chamundipuram Railway Station, at 4.05 pm. No one was using the toilet when the explosion took place.
Due the force of the blast, the roof, door and walls of the toilet were damaged. The loud noise of the blast, which was heard up to one kilometre from the spot, brought the court proceedings to a halt. The frightened judges, advocates and litigants fled the court.
The explosion was said to have been triggered with the help of an Improvised Electrical Devise (IED), as some wires and a battery were recovered from the spot.
Eyewitnesses say they saw a man entering the toilet with a flower bouquet just before the blast took place. A family, who cleans the toilet, had left a minute or two before the blast and rushed back after the blast.
Home minister G Parameshwara, who visited the spot along with DGP Om Prakash, said only a forensic report and an investigation would reveal the nature of the blast and the intention behind it.
He refused to speculate on whether the blast was intended to divert the attention from Rakesh's funeral or to terrorist motives behind it. “Nothing much can be said about it at this point,” he said.
The shattered asbestos roof sheet of the toilet was found strewn up to 100 meters from the spot, including on the road that runs beside the court.
Charles Govias, 52, a resident of Ramakrishnanagar who had come to the court along with his daughter Steffi Govias for her stenographer interview, said they was standing in the parking lot of Chamundipuram Railway Station - which is just 30 meters from the toilet - when the blast happened which flung a piece of asbestos sheet on his head.
“When I rushed to the spot, a saw smoke billowing from the damaged toilet and it smelt like firecrackers,” said Charles.
The police, who arrived at the spot at 4.20 pm, cordoned off the area to make way for the dog squad and fingerprint experts.
Several advocates expressed their anger over a lack of security arrangements in place in the court premises to check such incidents. Hours later, the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court SK Mukherjee also visited the court premises.
