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Indian police issue sketches of bombings suspects

Other News Materials 7 August 2008 11:58 (UTC +04:00)

Police in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, where terrorist bombings last month claimed 56 lives, have released sketches of three suspects behind the attacks, officials said Thursday.

"The sketches prepared on descriptions given by witnesses were released by the city's joint police commissioner HP Singh on Wednesday evening," said inspector TA Chawda at the Ahmedabad police control room, reported dpa.

"One of the suspects is believed to be the man who purchased the cycles on which the explosives were planted. The others were men who planted the bombs in the Narol, Hatkeshwar and Raipur areas," the policeman said.

The city police appealed to people to inform them immediately if they came across anyone resembling the sketches and descriptions.

Ahmedabad, a key city of India's financially dynamic Gujarat state was rocked by 21 synchronized bombings on July 26 that claimed 56 lives and injured at least 150 people.

The Gujarat police have yet to report any breakthrough in the case, although they claim to have unravelled some "important clues." However, it is unclear if they have any definite leads.

Several activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India were picked up by the police for questioning.

A Muslim militant group calling itself the "Indian Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad bombings and has threatened more attacks.

The group claimed the attack was in revenge for the 2002 Hindu Muslim riots in Gujarat in which 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

The Ahmedabad bombings were the second-biggest terrorist attack in India this year after the multiple bombings in the tourist city of Jaipur where at least 65 people were killed in nine serial blasts on May 13.

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