Click to play videoMalegaon/Modasa: The bomb blasts in Malegaon town of Maharashtra and Modasa in Gujarat are similar to the blast in Mehrauli in Delhi on Saturday, investigators have found.
At least four people were killed and several injured in blasts in the two communally sensitive towns on Monday night hours before the start of the festival season.
One person died and injured 12 were injured in Modasa town in Sabarkantha district when two men on a motorcycle threw a bomb in the crowded Suka market, a predominantly Muslim locality, at around 2100 hrs.
At the time of the attack the market was crowded with people shopping for Eid.
The explosion in Bhikku Chowk locality of Malegaon was caused by a bomb placed on a motorcycle and it killed three persons and injured over 50 people. At the time of the blast, several people were shopping for Eid.
Unconfirmed reports say a person had asked policemen to remove the unclaimed bike but no one bothered to check it out. Police say the blast’s impact was severe because of the petrol kept in the motorcycle.
Investigators are intrigued by the fact that the blast occurred outside a building where the banned Islamic group Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had its office once. The office was shut since 2001.
Investigators have also noted that three mosques are located in Bhikku Chowk. Immediately after the blasts, the situation became tense in Malegaon and several policemen were injured when a mob began pelting stones. The police fired in the air to bring the situation under control.
As many as 31 people were killed and 300 injured in four bomb blasts in Malegaon in 2006.
In both Modasa and Malegaon low-grade explosives were used to trigger blasts in crowded places—just like the bomb blast in Mehrauli.
Security experts say that the intent behind these bomb attacks is to spark communal conflict.
Political leaders in Malegaon and Modasa urged residents to maintain peace. Maharashtra Home Minister Patil, who was heckled in Malegaon, said he would take action against officials if it was found that they had ignored warning.
“An injured eyewitness told me that he had warned the police about the abandoned motorcycle. If this is found to be true we will take action against the official concerned,” he said.
Congress MP Madusudhan Mistry urged the people of Modasa to maintain and not to be incited by rumours.
(With reporting by CNN-IBN Correspondent Toral Varia. )
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