Agencies
Jaipur, May 15:
An unknown militant group has claimed responsibility for setting off a coordinated series of blasts that tore through a packed shopping area in Jaipur on Tuesday.
Eight bombs, many strapped to bicycles, killed 61 people and injured 216 people in Jaipur.
A video clip sent by email to national media showed one packet strapped on the back of a bicycle. The email said that the packet contained a bomb, police said on Thursday.
The video was broadcast across national television channels on Thursday and the email showed a serial number of one of the bicycles which police said they were trying to match up with bicycles used in the bombings.
Police said the email included a statement that the attack had targeted the tourism industry, although the attack occurred during the low season for tourists.
The group, called the Indian Mujahideen, also threatened more attacks, police said.
"We are examining the authenticity of the video and the claim at the moment," Pankaj Singh, a senior police officer, told a news agency in Jaipur.
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.
`India will fight terror at any cost'
Jaipur: On a visit here with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Thursday said India will fight terror at all costs and thwart the designs of terrorists to disturb peace and communal harmony in the country.
"The nefarious designs of terrorists will be thwarted boldly and their attempts will be foiled," Patil told reporters after visiting the injured in the serial blasts at the Sawai Man Singh hospital here along with Gandhi. Assuring the Centre's help to Rajasthan in the wake of terror strike, Patil said, "the Centre would give all possible assistance and help to the state to meet any exigency on the terror front."
Patil, who also went to the Tuesday's blast sites in the old city with Gandhi, said "whatever action is required, the Centre would do it immediately to enable the state government to face any such challenge".
Patil also appreciated the people of Jaipur for maintaining peace and harmony following the explosions, which have claimed 64 lives.
Earlier, Gandhi and Patil spent about thirty minutes in the trauma and other wards of the hospital amidst tight security arrangements. Rajasthan Health Minister Narpat Singh Rajvi briefed them at the hospital.
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