Gas leak blast in temple creates bomb scare

Bangalore: A blast at a temple following LPG gas leak created panic at Kaveri Nagar in Banashankari second stage on Sunday night. A bomb disposal squad and senior officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) rushed to the spot after residents made frantic calls to the police control room.

The blast occurred at Maadurga Paramesh­wari temple at Kaveri Nagar 7th Main at 9.05 pm on Sunday. The police said an LPG cylinder kept inside the sanctum sanctorum to prepare prasadam for devotees exploded. The temple priest, Manjunath Bhat, locked the temple and left for home around 8.30 pm. There was a power cut after that and when the power came back the cylinder exploded, the police said.

“The area residents heard a loud noise and informed the police. Senior police officers along with the bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot. Due to the impact, the wooden door of the sanctum was completely shattered, while four walls developed cracks.

As the police were trying to verify the reason behind the blast, a sniffer dog went near a gas cylinder kept outside the sanctum. Further examination of the cylinder by forensic experts revealed that the explosion was due to the leaking LPG cylinder,” the police said.

The police picked up the priest and questioned him on the presence of the cylinder inside the temple. “He confessed that soon after the blast, he rushed to the spot. But when he saw a huge crowd gathered in front of the temple, he shifted the LPG cylinder out of the sanctum, thinking that the public would thrash him,” the police added.

It is learnt that the priest had turned off the stove, but not the regulator that led to the leak, the police said. City Police Commissioner Rag­h­avendra H. Aurad­kar confirmed that there was no explosives found at the temple and it was an accident due to a gas leak.

Locals said the temple was around 40 years old and was rejuvenated just two years ago. A case is registered in Banashan­kari police station.