Bengaluru:
Two people were injured in an explosion at an under-construction building here on Tuesday afternoon, with a battery blast suspected to have triggered the incident, police said.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the cause of the explosion was yet to be established and urged people not to speculate before the investigation was completed.
It is still being investigated, he told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the preliminary investigation had just begun and samples needed to be sent to a laboratory for testing.
The explosion occurred at around 2.30 pm on Tuesday on the fourth floor of a building on Jamia Road, coming under the Pulakeshinagar police station limits, while construction work was underway.
A fire broke out following the explosion, prompting fire personnel to rush to the spot and extinguish the blaze.
The injured, reportedly a security guard from Nepal and a construction worker, were admitted to Bowring Hospital for treatment.
Kharge said one person lost a finger, while the other sustained minor injuries.
"There has been a blast, that's all I can tell you now," he said, adding that investigators were examining the available evidence.
He cautioned against paying heed to rumours until the findings were established.
Asked whether an explosive device was involved, the minister said, "Whether it was a chemical reaction, whether an IED was involved, or whatever it was, we are investigating. I cannot simply go around repeating whatever someone tells me,"
"The sound was extremely loud. For a moment, I thought Deepavali had arrived," an eyewitness from a neighbouring building said, adding that the impact of the explosion was felt as vibrations inside his house.
Bengaluru DCP (East division) Vikram Amte visited the spot, while Pulakeshinagar police launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
The bomb squad, Anti-Terrorism Squad and forensic experts also examined the site and the object suspected to have exploded.
Police suspect that a battery-like object may have exploded, but the exact cause is yet to be established.
Investigators are also examining whether the incident has any connection with previous explosions reported in Bengaluru, including those linked to the manufacture of explosive materials.
The incident has drawn particular attention as it occurred during the ongoing Dussehra festive period.
Speaking to reporters here, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said prima facie it was found that it happened at an under-construction house where few families are already staying.
"The houses are completed. The structure is complete somewhere. In some houses, the interior work is going on. In this particular house also, interior work was going on. No one was living. Two workers were there. One of them is a worker, and another one is the security guard of that building," Singh explained.
He added that the explosion occurred when one of them had pressed a button of a battery torch. As soon as he pressed the button, there was a blast.
"Our police teams are verifying what and how it happened, and what the contents were in the battery. As far as the technical evidence is concerned, our Anti Terrorism Cell (ATC) team and the forensic team went to the spot on Tuesday night," the Police Commissioner said.
He explained that police are verifying from all angles. "We will try to reconstruct the materials used in this particular blast, if it is a blast," Singh said.
The police officer said both the injured are not from Bengaluru but from outside Karnataka.
"We are verifying the background of the injured persons from the jurisdictional police stations where they hail from.
Police are questioning the owner of the house and the inmates of the other flats who have already occupied them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)