Chidambaram appeals to remain calm

NEW DEHLI: Describing the serial blasts in Mumbai as a well "coordinated attack by terrorists", Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday appealed to the people to remain calm and maintain peace.

Three blasts in India's financial capital ripped through crowded places at 6.45 p.m. and occurred within minutes of each other, the Home Minister said after presiding over an emergency meeting of top officials of the ministry. "We infer this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," he told reporters. He feared that the death toll in the blasts could go up.

He said the National Security Guard (NSG) hub in Mumbai, set up in the wake of 26/11 terror attack in the city in 2008, has been put on standby. He said the elite force's 'post-blast' team has also been sent to Mumbai.

The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team from Delhi and Hyderabad has been sent to Mumbai, he said. Chidambaram said that a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), led by an IG rank officer, will also leave for Mumbai during the night.

Chidambaram held an emergency meeting which was attended by senior officials of the ministry where the situation in Mumbai was reviewed as well as internal security situation in the country was discussed. It was decided to sound high alert in all States, particularly in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi. The Home Ministry was monitoring the situation on a regular basis and putting to use much of crisis-fighting apparatus and practices, like multi-agency centre, put in force after 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.