Eight killed as 'bomb' hits Indian bakery

An apparent bomb blast ripped through a crowded bakery in the western Indian city of Pune yesterday, killing at least eight people near a famed meditation centre frequented by foreigners.

Home secretary GK Pillai said the explosion at the German Bakery, near the Osho Ashram meditation centre, at about 3 p.m., was likely to have been caused by a bomb.

"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Mr Pillai said.

The building and nearby shops were badly damaged.

"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place," said Abba More, who lives nearby.

One foreigner was among those killed and another was injured in the blast, but their nationalities were not immediately known.

Earlier, Press Trust of India quoted Mr Pillai as saying the blast was likely to have been a terror attack.

If true, it would be the first major terror strike in India since 10 Pakistan-based gunmen rampaged through hotels and the train station in the financial hub of Mumbai for 60 hours in November 2008, killing 166 people.

India has warned of a possible new attack in recent weeks and put its airports on alert for a possible hijacking attempt.

The blast threatened to damage new efforts to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan, with Hindu nationalist leaders already placing the blame for the bakery explosion at India's Muslim neighbour.

The two countries agreed to hold talks in New Delhi on February 25, their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.

Asked whether the blast was linked to the India-Pakistan talks, Mr Pillai said: "Forensic investigations have just begun. Until they are completed, we will not know who is (involved)."

But Gopinath Munde, a senior Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party leader, asserted: "This again is an attack from Pakistan."

Police, anti-terror squad members and forensic experts were at the scene investigating the explosion, while a team of federal investigators was flying to the city.

Mr Pillai said the ashram, about 200 metres from the bakery, had been surveyed by David Headley, who is facing charges in Chicago that he helped scout out the targets for the Mumbai attack.