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Man carrying 5 bombs arrested
06/12/2007 12:04 - (SA)
Lucknow - A man carrying five bombs was arrested on Thursday near a court in a northern Indian state where 13 people were killed in a wave of court blasts last month, police said.
The bomb discovery came as the state of Uttar Pradesh was on high alert to guard against attacks on the day marking the 12th anniversary of the razing of an ancient mosque by Hindu fanatics in the province's Ayodhya town.
"Five crude bombs were found in a bag the man was carrying while entering the court," said a police inspector, who asked not to be named.
The man told police the bag contained firecrackers that he made for a living, said the inspector in Lucknow, state capital of Uttar Pradesh.
The bombs were found in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh where three cities were hit by serial bombings last month.
As part of the high alert put into effect on Thursday, anti-riot police were deployed in nine communally sensitive parts of the state, said Brij Lal, a top police official.
The destruction of the mosque on December 6, 1992, sparked nationwide riots that left some 2 000 people dead.
Security was also stepped up in neighbouring New Delhi after intelligence reports that six militants entered the Indian capital from Uttar Pradesh, police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.
Last month's blasts outside courts in three Uttar Pradesh cities that left at least 13 dead were targeting lawyers and came after the state's bar council decided not to defend Islamist militants facing charges in the state.
India has been plagued by bombings across the country in recent years and routinely points the finger at foreign-based Islamic militant groups fighting its rule in the Himalayan state of Kashmir.
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