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Indian police probed whether Indian Islamist groups or
Bangladeshi infiltrators were behind bombings in a popular Indian
tourist city that killed 61 people this week, but made no major
arrests.
Eight bombs, many strapped to bicycles, ripped through a crowded
shopping area in the western city of Jaipur on Tuesday evening and
injured another 216 people.
Police said the attack bore some hallmarks of the Bangladeshi
militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI), and released a
sketch of a man in his mid-20s seen near the scene of one bombing
speaking Bengali, the main language of Bangladesh.
An email to local media, from a group calling itself the Indian
Mujahideen, declared open war on India and threatened more attacks
on tourists.
The email also included a video of a bicycle with a bag strapped
to it, with the bike's serial number.
"We are looking at various angles, verifying every claim and
questioning lots of people," Pankaj Singh, a senior police officer
in Jaipur, said.
He added that no arrests had been made.
Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, said she doubted the
authenticity of the video, echoing comments from other police
officials.
"The email was sent to mislead us and the investigation," Raje told
reporters.
India has suffered a wave of bombings in recent years, with targets
ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains.
But it is unusual for any group to claim responsibility for
attacks.
Islamist militant groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh intent on
fanning hatred between Muslims and Hindus in India, and damaging a
fragile peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad, are often
blamed for bomb attacks in India.
In Jaipur, dozens of Bangladeshi migrant labourers were taken in
for questioning. HuJI was blamed for blasts in Uttar Pradesh and
Hyderabad last year that killed scores of people.
Bangladesh High Commissioner Liaquat Ali Choudhury told local
television on Thursday that he would not make any comments about
allegations that HuJI was involved.
Deserted streets
The streets inside the walled-city of Jaipur were deserted on
Thursday as authorities imposed a curfew for a second consecutive
day in some areas.
Many people inside the old city, also known as the pink city
because of the colour of buildings, said they were having sleepless
nights.
"The sight of human flesh and my injured teenage son lying in a
pool of blood still gives me nightmares," Sahid Akhtar, a shop
owner in the main square, said.
In the past few years, bomb blasts in Indian cities have killed
hundreds of people.
The deadliest was in July 2006, when seven bombs on Mumbai's rail network killed more than 180 people.
