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Indian police make sketches of bomb blast suspects

Posted on: Thursday, 9 March 2006, 07:23 CST

By Sharat Pradhan

VARANASI, India (Reuters) - Indian police released sketches on Thursday of two men wanted in connection with bomb blasts that killed 15 people in one of Hinduism's holiest cities, an attack claimed by Kashmiri separatists.

Lashkar-e-Kahar (Army of Fury), a previously unknown Islamist group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, said it was responsible for Tuesday's twin bomb blasts in Varanasi city and vowed to carry out more attacks if New Delhi did not "stop excesses" in the revolt-torn region.

The sketches were of two men who placed a bag containing a bomb outside a shop in Varanasi and were based on the description of the shopkeeper, Varanasi's police chief, Navneet Sikera, told a news conference.

That bomb was detected before it was set off and defused.

Two other bombs exploded -- at an ancient Hindu temple and at the main railway station -- killing 15 and wounding dozens, many of them devotees and people who had come to attend three weddings at the sprawling temple complex.

"From their looks and physique they seemed to be Kashmiris and were in their late twenties according to the shopkeeper. They were speaking Hindi with some difficulty," Sikera said, referring to the two suspects.

He said the entire operation in the city may have involved four or five men.

"We have a lot of information. We may take some time but we will be successful. We will find out who was behind this and what their aim was," Sikera said.

Hours earlier, the militant group called a local news agency in Indian Kashmir and claimed responsibility for the explosions.

"If India does not stop excesses in Kashmir, we will carry out more such attacks across India," Abdullah Jabbar, claiming to be Lashkar-e-Kahar's spokesman, said by telephone.

Security experts said the group was likely a front for Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure), which is also on top of the police list of suspects.

But Lashkar-e-Taiba sources in Pakistan denied links with Lashkar-e-Kahar and said it could be an Indian militant outfit.

CITY STANDS RESOLUTE

Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is outlawed in Pakistan and is fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, has been blamed for many violent attacks across India in the past.

Reports of progress by the police came as Varanasi reinforced its standing as one of India's most vibrant pilgrimage centers.

Markets across the holy city opened, streets bustled with traffic and tourists, Indian and foreign, returned to the ancient bathing ghats and temples by the holy Ganges river a day after Hindu groups shut the city in protests.

Police said they would continue to mount vigils to prevent any backlash against local Muslims although, they added, that appeared unlikely.

"Violence occurs when there is anger," said Mahendra Tanna, a Varanasi businessman. "The blasts at the temple did not anger us but made us sad. Which is why there have been no riots.

"How can we associate all this with Muslims? All Muslims are not bad and all Hindus are not good," said Tanna, a Hindu.

Temple-studded Varanasi, 670 km (420 miles) southeast of New Delhi, is one of India's most ancient cities and popular with foreign tourists interested in Hinduism.

Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi, being cremated on the banks of the Ganges and the ashes immersed in the river ensures release from the cycle of rebirth.

Analysts and intelligence officers said that although the Hindu community was targeted by suspected Islamist militants, they did not expect trouble because most Indians were weary of violence and increasingly resilient.

Besides, political groups had largely refrained from stoking tensions and Varanasi's Muslims had condemned the blasts and joined Hindus in a general strike on Wednesday, avoiding a confrontation, they said.

"We are grateful to the people that they have not allowed this situation to take a communal turn," said Yashpal Singh, police chief of Uttar Pradesh state where Varanasi is located.

"It is thanks also to the political parties as none of them tried to give this political color," Singh told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq in Srinagar)

Source: REUTERS

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