At least 10 people were injured after an explosion in a rickshaw in Lahore on Friday.
Bomb Disposal Squad officials said the rickshaw had close to two kilogrammes of explosive material, adding that ball bearings were also found from the crime scene near Chauburji on Multan Road.
According to a spokesperson for Punjab’s Counterterrorism Department (CTD), the blast occurred at around 11:25am. “Ten persons have been injured including the driver of the rickshaw. All sustained minor injuries. All of the injured were walking near the rickshaw at the time of the blast,” he said.
The spokesman said a passenger boarded the rickshaw and got down at Samanabad after paying the fare. “The passenger was carrying a shopping bag which he probably left in the rickshaw,” he said, adding that the driver ‘did not notice it’. “The driver parked his rickshaw on Multan Road and got off to relieve himself nearby. That is when the blast occurred,” he said.
The statement said that based on the BDS and Punjab Forensic Science Agency initial assessment, the blast could have come from an IED (improvised explosive device). “Exact weight and nature of the explosive device will be determined later on after analysis,” it added.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Inam Waheed told media that the police’s initial impression was that it was a blast from a gas cylinder. “After investigating, we discovered that was not the case,” he said. “We have also retrieved some ball bearing from the crime scene,” he said, adding that though nothing final could be stated at this point, “we can estimate that 3-5kg of explosives were used”.
Other police officials said it could be a remote-controlled explosion as a suspicious device was found near the blast site. They said there were also clear marks of ball bearings on the charred and mangled wreckage of the rickshaw. However, they said forensic teams and investigators are still working to ascertain the cause.
An eyewitness named Asghar said he was floored by the impact of the explosion. “There were people standing close to the rickshaw. The blast ripped the clothes off their bodies … their shoes were also on fire,” he said.
The victims have been identified as Sadaf, aged 35, d/o Nazeer; Azeem, 18, s/o Shaukat; Aleem, 49, s/o Akhtar; Asim, 28, s/o Mahmood; Adeel, 28, s/o Bashir; Saleem, 55, s/o Azam; and the rickshaw driver 28-year-old Ramzan s/o Wazir.
The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the blast.
The incident comes a day after the facilitator of the Data Darbar suicide bombing that took place earlier this year was sentenced to death. The blast, which occurred on May 8, had left as many as 12 people, including five security personnel of the Elite Force, dead.