Indian police release sketches of suspects in mosque bombing

INDIA: Police launched a manhunt Monday for two men believed to be involved in a bomb attack last week on a mosque in the western Indian city of Malegaon that killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 100 others.

Police said witnesses and residents of Malegaon had come forward with information on Monday after sketches of the two suspects were released late Sunday.

Police identified the men after questioning the owners of two shops where the bicycles that were rigged with the explosives used in the attack were sold.

"We are pursuing leads from information we are getting from the public," said Malegaon area police Superintendent Rajvardhan, who uses one name like many people in the region. "Definitely the men could have had a part in the bombings, but it's still early to specify what part they played."

"We cannot say at this juncture if their work was limited to buying the cycles or if they also packed them with explosives," said Inspector General of Police P.K. Jain, who released the sketches. Jain said it was not yet clear who was behind the blast.

Meanwhile, forensic experts continued to examine remnants of the explosives used in the attacks in Malegaon, a city of about 500,000 people, 75 percent of them Muslim, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of Mumbai.

Rajvardhan said he could not disclose details about whether the bomb was a crude one or if the powerful explosive RDX was used. "We must await the forensic report that is due very soon," he said. There have been conflicting reports about the nature of the explosives.

Over the weekend a senior police officer said the bombs were advanced and were identical to those used in train bombings in Mumbai in July that killed more than 200 people. He said RDX, a high-powered explosive favored by Pakistani-based militants, had been detected.

But a senior government official told a television station that the bombs were crude and contained no RDX.

Mumbai, Monday, AP