Citibank New Delhi Office Bombed; 1 Killed, 14 Hurt

A bomb exploded today in Citibank’s main branch office in downtown New Delhi, killing one man and injuring at least 14 other people, police and bank officials said.

“We can confirm that a bomb exploded today . . . at one of our branches in New Delhi,” said David Roberts, a vice president and country corporate officer for Citibank in India.

There was no claim of responsibility for the 12:15 p.m. explosion, which caused extensive damage to the American bank’s third-floor office. But immediate suspicion fell on Sikhs fighting for a separate homeland in the northern state of Punjab.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Maryann Whitten issued a warning after the blast. “The American Embassy has advised its employees and American businesses in New Delhi to take security precautions,” she said. She did not elaborate.

Whitten said there were no reports of injuries to Americans.

Thirteen people injured in the explosion were admitted to Ram Manohar Hospital, three of them in critical condition. Another person was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The dead man was identified as Satish Chaudhary, an Indian who lived in the town of Noida east of New Delhi.

P. Chidambaram, India’s minister of state for home affairs, said all of the injured were Indian citizens.

The office opened late last year on the third floor of a new, 12-story office tower. The building overlooks the capital’s central Connaught Circle shopping arcade.