Explosions kill 5 before opposition rally in India
Print Edition
A series of small bomb blasts killed five people and injured dozens yesterday in an east Indian city just hours before a massive campaign rally by the country’s main opposition prime ministerial candidate in a nearby park.
After the six homemade bombs went off in the Bihar state capital of Patna, panic erupted briefly among the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the park to hear Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party speak.
Authorities quickly restored order and the rally went ahead as scheduled. Modi made no mention of the blasts during his hourlong speech. The longtime chief minister of western Gujarat state has been waging a fierce national campaign to unseat the Congress-led government in next year’s elections.
Police detained one man for questioning after the explosions, but did not say whether he was a suspect.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the violence and appealed for peace and calm.
The first blast came from a crude bomb that exploded in a public toilet building on an isolated railway platform, Patna district police chief Manu Maharaj said.
Another bomb went off near a movie theater, and two more exploded just outside the park, sending plumes of gray smoke swirling above the crowd.
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