Srinagar: 38 people were injured when militants on October 28 carried out a grenade attack on the headquarters of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on the heavily-guarded exchange road in Srinagar.

The attack came shortly after Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit issued a statement threatening to intensify operations during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.

The grenade was lobbed by unidentified militants at the BSNL building which landed near the main counter for collection of telephone bills around 1 PM, official sources said.

A large number of people were present at the bill counters when the grenade pierced the tin-roof and exploded with a big bang causing injuries to 38 civilians including eight women, the sources said.

No BSNL employee was injured in the explosion, they added.

The injured were shifted to a hospital where condition of five of them was stated to be serious, the sources said.

Located in the heart of the city, the BSNL building is guarded round-the-clock by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the sudden grenade attack took them by surprise.

The sources said police assisted by paramilitary forces immediately cordoned off the area, but no one was arrested in the subsequent operation as the militants had already fled the scene taking advantage of the panic which followed the blast.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far.

PTI