Two low-intensity blasts were felt in Taj city Agra on March 18. The area has been cordoned off and senior officers have rushed to the site, police said.
Forensic teams and dog squads have also reached the spot. No one has been injured in the blasts.
Both the explosions took place near the busy Agra Cantt Railway Station. While the first blast took place in a garbage dump when the Municipal Corporation staffers were clearing it as a part of their daily routine, the other blast took place in a house.
The driver of a tractor trolley deployed to clear the garbage told the police that there was a loud explosion near the tyres and white smoke billowed from the blast when he was moving ahead. Police is questioning him to get more details.
The police has also sealed the house behind the railway station where the second blast took place.
Two explosions in Agra. One in a garbage dumping tractor and the other on the terrace of a house.No injuries. Visuals from the spot pic.twitter.com/biH6VEumvx
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 18, 2017
The explosions come close on the heels of a threat by IS (Islamic State) that it will attack the Taj Mahal, after which security was beefed up at the historical monument on March 17. A website on March 14 showed a new poster issued by a pro-ISIS media group, Ahwaal Ummat Media Center, that showed Taj Mahal as the target.
The photo featured three inset pictures an image of Taj Mahal with words “New Target” below it, a van with the Arabic text “Agra istishhadi” (Agra martyrdom-seeker) written in English, and an image of a “bomb”.
“Link being circulated that says Taj Mahal will be targeted in attack. Security has been enhanced in and around the area,” UP ADG (Law&Order) Daljeet Chowdhary said on March 17.
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