Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday, March 1, confirmed that the blast at the Rameswaram Cafe in Whitefield, Bengaluru earlier in the day was due to a small improvised explosive device.

While commenting on the incident, Siddaramaiah mentioned on social media platform X (previously called Twitter) that eight people were injured in the incident. Other reports suggested that around nine people were injured.  "The chief minister and the home minister have been given complete information on the incident. Nine people were injured in the incident. An investigation is underway. We will get feedback from the FSL team," Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan was quoted by Live Mint.

As per the chief minister's post, the CCTV footage suggests that the blast took place after a person who had taken a token from the cashier and had breakfast at the cafe left the bag there.

"Such an incident should not have happened in the state. Another such incident happened in Mangalore. Whoever did this will be found out and strict action will be taken against them. Opposition parties should not play politics in such matters. Everyone should now cooperate with the government," Siddaramaiah added.

Also read: 'Pakistan in the Karnataka Assembly': BJP Leaders' Reaction to Alleged Slogans During RS Polls

As per reports, police teams, including a dog squad, forensic and fire brigade teams rushed to the blast site to analyse the aftereffects of the explosion. The blast took place around 1 pm. Further, reports suggested that three of those injured were taken to a hospital nearby where staff said two people had suffered minor injuries while the third had 40% burn injuries and was in intensive care.

"It was not a large-scale blast, it was an improvised explosive blast. Such things have happened earlier too, it should not happen. Let's see what it is. In recent times such blasts had not taken place other than the incident in Mangaluru during the BJP rule. This is the first such incident during our government," Mohan was quoted by The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, BJP Karnataka state president B Y Vijayendra said, "The soft approach of the (Congress) government towards law and order has resulted in this incident."

Further, relating the incident to the pro-Pakistan sloganeering at the Karnataka assembly during the recently concluded Rajya Sabha polls, he said the blast was an extension to the slogan episode, "We demand the state government to hand over the case to NIA."

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