Jaipur: Terror struck Jaipur tonight when eight serial blasts rocked crowded areas including one near a temple in the space of a few minutes leaving at least 80 killed and scores injured.

Police sources said that 80 persons perished in the attack that triggered a stampede in the affected areas in the walled city which are frequented by foreign tourists. Six women were among the dead.

It is for the first time that the Pink City is coming under terror radar. Unofficial figures put the toll at around 80. Scores of wounded people were ferried to several hospitals soon after the low-intensity blasts hit at Tripolia Bazar, where large number of devotees turned up at a Hanuman temple, Johari Bazar, Manas Chowk, Badi Choupal and Choti Choupal in the walled part of the city.

Rajasthan Director General of Police A S Gill said it was "obviously a terror attack." Police sources said the attack was meticulously planned and the first blast occured around 7.40 p.m. and the remaining blasts were set off in quick succession.

The Union Home Ministry reviewed the situation while Mumbai and Delhi were put on high alert. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed in Jaipur to help deal with the situation as security was beefed up. One of the blasts took place in a car and another near a handloom shop in Kotwali area of the city, home department sources said. The injured were rushed to Sawai Man Singh hospital, the sources said.

The blasts triggered a near-stampede situation at the blast sites crammed with peak-hour shoppers as panic-stricken people ran helter skelter in search of a safe place. The Hanuman temple at Tripolia bazar was crowded with worshippers being a Tuesday. There were also reports that a live bomb was defused by a bomb disposal squad.

The blasts set off chaos at the markets and traffic snarls at several places of the city as people scrambled to return home or other safer places fearing further explosions and violence. A puddle of blood formed outside the Hanuman temple at Tripolia Bazar. Within minutes, the whole temple complex and the market were cleared of the crowd as people ran for safety. Police were seen warning the people against touching any vehicle or other suspicious unclaimed objects. A high alert has been sounded across Rajasthan soon after the explosions.

The emergency ward at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital was splattered with blood as scores of dead and injured lay there. Security was stepped up at the Ajmer dargah, where a terror blast had taken place seven months ago, following the blasts in Jaipur. Forensic teams of Rajasthan police are examining the blast sites to get a clue about the nature of explosives used in triggering the blasts, DGP Gill said.

He said the manner in which the blasts had been set off and the targets picked up made it clear that these were terror attacks. Gill said it appeared that cycles were used to trigger the low-intensity blasts.

Source : Agencies