|
350 detained over Mumbai blast
13/07/2006 07:29 - (SA)
Mumbai - Indian police have detained about 350 people for questioning in connection with the Mumbai train bombings, officials said on Thursday, amid suspicion that Kashmiri militants could be linked to the attacks that killed at least 200 people.
Most of the detentions were made overnight in Malwani, a north-eastern suburb of Mumbai, said police inspector S Goshal. None of the suspects were formally arrested or charged, and they were rounded up only for questioning to help with the investigations into Tuesday's serial bombings.
Mumbai police commissioner AN Roy confirmed a large number of arrests have been made but refused to give an exact figure.
Questioning
"There have been widespread search operations. A lot of people have been detained for questioning," he said.
"This is all part of a large scale investigation, the search operation and combing operation," he told The Associated Press.
He said those arrested include known thugs, gangsters and trouble makers, who might have information about the culprits.
Link to militant group
The arrests came a day after the police chief of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said investigators were looking into a possible link with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, one of the several Kashmiri militant groups fighting for independence from India for the Himalayan region.
"It is difficult to say definitely at this stage, but Lashkar-e-Tayyaba can be involved going by the style of attack," said PS Pasricha, the director general of police for Maharashtra state.
Lashkar has in the past employed near-simultaneous explosions to attack Indian cities. A spokesperson for Lashkar, Abdullah Ghaznavi, denied the group was involved, saying in a statement that "Indian security forces blame Lashkar in an attempt to defame Kashmir freedom struggle".
City back to normal
On Thursday, the city was back on track with tens of thousands of people jamming the commuter train service that had been hit by eight bombs, which killed at least 200 people and wounding more than 700.
"The city has faced attacks in the past. It is always bounced back quickly ... people have to go to work. What else are we going to do," said Ashwini Lolo, an office worker in his 20s, at the Bandra station waiting to board a train.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praised the wounded city of 16 million for its strength and resilience.
"No one can make India kneel. No one can come in the path of our progress," Singh said in a nationally televised speech.
- AP
|
News
