Firing near Jama Masjid; Delhi, Mumbai on alert

CNN-IBN
Posted on Sep 19, 2010 at 12:12 | 

 Updated Sep 19, 2010 at 14:58

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New Delhi: Just two weeks before the Commonwealth Games, there's been firing on a tourist bus in Delhi near the Jama Masjid. Two Taiwanese were injured in the firing in the walled city area Sunday morning, police said.

Two unidentified persons fired at the duo near gate number three of the historic mosque, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Jaspal Singh said.

He said the two injured persons, who were from Taiwan, have been taken to Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital. "We are looking into the matter," he said.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers were wearing helmet and rain coats and escaped on a bike after firing seven rounds. A red alert has been sounded for the two suspects who are still absconding. Police have recovered .38 bore weapon and .99 mm ammunition.

Four senior surgeons are operating on the two injured foreign tourists. One tourist has suffered bullet injury in his lever, according to Vinod Kumar Ramteke, head of Surgery department of the LNJP hospital.

The firing, apparently from an automatic weapon, lasted about a minute and sparked panic in the mammoth 16th-century red sandstone mosque in the city's old quarters, official Umar Khan said.

The incident took place around 11 a.m. The gunmen escaped through the narrow lanes ringing the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques and located opposite the Red Fort monument.

Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari called it a terror attack which he said was aimed at keeping away foreigners from the Indian capital ahead of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games. The gunmen escaped through the narrow lanes ringing the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques.

"I believe three tourists were wounded. We saw at least two," Bukhari told reporters. Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS that the attack took place at around 11.30 a.m. outside gate 3. He said the attackers' identity was not known.

Shrine official Umar Khan said: "All of us heard the gunshots distinctly." He said that one of the tourists was wounded in the leg.

"It was indiscriminate firing," said the Imam, whose family have presided over the mosque since it was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, facing the Red Fort monument. "Besides the young men, a policeman also gave chase to the attackers but they escaped," Bukhari said.

The attack spared panic both in the mosque and in the thickly populated area around it. Hundreds streamed out of houses and shops, but police kept most people away from the attack site.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit called it "a sad incident". She added that police were not presently aware of the motive behind the attack. "Let them investigate," she said.

The attack came despite a high level of security the authorities have declared here in the run up to the Commonwealth Games that will draw athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories. The Jama Masjid receives a large number of Indian and foreign tourists daily, the number going up on Sundays.

Taking note of the incident, red alerts have been issued in both Delhi and Mumbai.

(IBN live)