New Delhi, Sep 13: A series of explosions ripped through three of the most crowded markets in the Capital today, killing 18 and injuring over 80 people. There were reports of the police finding an unexploded bomb as well.

The first blast took place in Gaffar Market in the Karol Bagh area. Gaffar Market is Delhi's most famous electronics "grey" market, where bargains can be found on everything from digital cameras to mobile phones. At any time of the day, it is jam packed with buyers hunting for cheap stuff. Little wonder it was considered an ideal place to plant the bomb.

At first, it was not very clear what had happened. An autorickshaw blew up at Gaffar Market, damaging a number of cars and two wheelers parked near it and also injuring people standing close to it. Initially, most people thought that a faulty CNG fuel tank in the autorickshaw had blown up. But soon it was clear that this was no accident. Four more blasts took place in quick succession – two in Connaught Place and two in Greater Kailash's M Block Market.

The M Block market explosions were apparently very low intensity blasts and though there were several injuries, initial reports suggest that there were no casualties. The Shopkeeper's Association of M Block Market acted quickly to keep people from panicking and managed to get the shoppers out of this popular marketing complex. M Block Market is a favourite destination of young shoppers and people just hanging around in the coffee shops so any blast in this area could create a lot of havoc. Luckily, this was one area where low grade bombs had been put.

Delhi's most famous shopping complex Connaught Place caught the brunt though. Two separate blasts took place within minutes in this market. The first was a bomb that had been placed in a garbage can near a Metro station. The second explosion took place in the Central Park, a favourite haunt of both young lovers as well as tired shoppers pausing to rest their feet. Early reports suggest that the bulk of the deaths and injuries took place because of the Connaught Place blasts, though the reports could not be verified.

As news of the blasts spread, panic engulfed the city. Metro operations were shut because there was widespread apprehension that the terrorists would place bombs in the trains to cause more damage. Malls emptied and cellphone networks were jammed as people called up thier friends an relatives to enquire about their safety. Simultaneously, the police moved to get people out of the other famous markets like Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar. Three years ago, in 2005, Sarojini Nagar market, along with Daryaganj, were the locations where bombs had been placed, again during the festival shopping season. In those blasts, over 55 people had been killed and a couple of hundred injured.

Initial reports suggest that the explosives used in the current blasts were of a lower grade than those that were used in 2005. The information available so far suggests that the explosives were similar to those that were used in the Bangalore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad blasts in July.

At the moment, the police doesn't have much idea about the group that could be behind the blasts. One television channel claimed that it had an email from Indian Mujahadeen. Another channel has claimed that Delhi was the last leg of SIMI's operation BAD – which stands for Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi.