South Asia News

Little-known group claims responsibility for Jaipur blasts (Roundup)

May 15, 2008, 14:21 GMT

New Delhi - Indian police on Thursday detained the owner of a cybercafe from where emails were sent by an organization calling itself Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the Jaipur serial blasts, news reports said. The email by the little-known outfit was sent to television channels on Wednesday. The mail claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed at least 63 people on Tuesday in the capital of Rajasthan state and included a video clip of a bicycle with a package strapped to it that the email claimed was a bomb, PTI and IANS news agencies reported. The email gave the frame number of the bicycle and claimed it was the same one that was planted at one of the blast sites in Jaipur. The email said Jaipur was chosen as a target as it was a tourist destination. Warning the United States and Britain against sending its people to India, it said: '... and if you do so then your people will be welcomed by our suicide attackers.' The email said it was an open warning to India to stop supporting the US failing which it should get ready for more attacks on important tourist places. The email was traced to a cybercafe in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of the Indian capital and the owner has been detained for questioning, IANS reported, citing police sources. The email address used was similar to that from which messages were sent to television channels minutes before serial blasts in northern Uttar Pradesh state on November 23. The five blasts in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi left 13 dead and more than 40 wounded. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said the authenticity of the email was being investigated but it cold be a ploy to mislead investigators. She was addressing a press briefing in Jaipur. Raje also said that there were nine blasts on Tuesday and a 10th bomb had been defused. The police have said the bombs used in Jaipur were concealed in bags and placed on bicycles placed at crowded sites in the old quarters of Jaipur within a 2-km radius. All the blasts took place within 20 minutes. 'We have some clues ... but we will not like to share them because it will hamper our investigations,' Raje said. Stressing the need to strengthen the police and anti-terrorism laws in the country, she said: 'This is not a crime, we are in the middle of a war.' A sketch of a man suspected of being involved in the bombings which was prepared after questioning a cycle-shop owner and other witnesses was released on Wednesday. The police have also detained a number of people for questioning, including several Bengali-speaking people, PTI reported. Media reports had said on Wednesday that investigators suspected the Bangladesh-based Islamic militant group Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HUJI) may be involved in the blasts along with local groups.

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