By Bappa Majumdar
JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Indian police probed on Thursdaywhether Indian Islamist groups or Bangladeshi infiltrators werebehind bombings in a popular Indian tourist city that killed 61people this week, but made no major arrests.
Eight bombs, many strapped to bicycles, ripped through acrowded shopping area in the western city of Jaipur on Tuesdayevening and injured another 216 people.
Police said the attack bore some hallmarks of theBangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI),and released a sketch of a man in his mid-20s seen near thescene of one bombing speaking Bengali, the main language ofBangladesh.
An email to local media, from a group calling itself theIndian Mujahideen, declared open war on India and threatenedmore attacks on tourists. The email also included a video of abicycle with a bag strapped to it, with the bike's serialnumber.
"We are looking at various angles, verifying every claimand questioning lots of people," Pankaj Singh, a senior policeofficer in Jaipur, said. He added that no arrests had beenmade.
Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, said shedoubted the authenticity of the video, echoing comments fromother police officials.
"The email was sent to mislead us and the investigation,"Raje told reporters.
India has suffered a wave of bombings in recent years, withtargets ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains. Butit is unusual for any group to claim responsibility forattacks.
Islamist militant groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh intenton fanning hatred between Muslims and Hindus in India, anddamaging a fragile peace process between New Delhi andIslamabad, are often blamed for bomb attacks in India.
In Jaipur, dozens of Bangladeshi migrant labourers weretaken in for questioning. HuJI was blamed for blasts in UttarPradesh and Hyderabad last year that killed scores of people.
Bangladesh High Commissioner Liaquat Ali Choudhury toldlocal television on Thursday that he would not make anycomments about allegations that HuJI was involved.
DESERTED STREETS
The streets inside the walled-city of Jaipur were desertedon Thursday as authorities imposed a curfew for a secondconsecutive day in some areas.
Many people inside the old city, also known as the pinkcity because of the colour of buildings, said they were havingsleepless nights.
"The sight of human flesh and my injured teenage son lyingin a pool of blood still gives me nightmares," Sahid Akhtar, ashop owner in the main square, told Reuters.
In the past few years, bomb blasts in Indian cities havekilled hundreds of people. The deadliest was in July 2006, whenseven bombs on Mumbai's rail network killed more than 180people.
(Editing by Alistair Scrutton)
