Singh calls for calm after deadly blasts

INDIA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday appealed for calm as he flew to Hyderabad and visited some of the 117 people wounded in twin bombings last week which killed 16 people. Singh also visited the blast site in Dilsukh Nagar, where two bicycle bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other outside a cinema and near a bus stand on Thursday evening.

The Prime Minister met with some of the blast survivors and medical staff in two city hospitals and expressed his condolences. “It is most important that in this hour of grief the people should maintain calm,” he said.

“I am happy that the people of Hyderabad have refused to be provoked by this nefarious incident,” the prime minister told reporters.

“I pray for the speedy recovery of those who have been injured, to those who have died I send my condolences to all the bereaved families,” Singh added.

His spokesman Pankaj Pachauri told AFP Singh was scheduled to be briefed by N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, chief minister of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, on the incident.

Hyderabad, one of the major hubs of India’s booming software industry, is the capital of coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The premier has vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of what he called a “dastardly” attack, the first major bombings in India since 2011.

Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy has said investigators have found “vital clues” but gave no details.

Newspapers have pointed the finger at the Indian Mujahideen, a banned militant outfit which has claimed responsibility for previous attacks.

The fitting of the explosive devices to bicycles was similar to other attacks by the outfit, local media reports quoted investigators as saying.

AFP