May 14, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1429

JAIPUR, May 13: A series of bomb blasts on Tuesday at markets in the northern Indian city of Jaipur killed 80 people, the Rajasthan state home minister said.

“We have information that 80 people have died,” Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria told journalists.

“One suspect was detained and is being investigated,” he added.

One of the bombs went off near a Hindu temple, leaving blood splattered on the street and cycles and rickshaws in a mangled heap, television showed.

Government officials had yet to comment on the likely perpetrators.

Police said seven blasts occurred within minutes of each other in crowded markets in old walled Jaipur, about 260 kilometres (160 miles) from New Delhi.

“It’s a terror attack. There was no (intelligence) report of this,” police Director-General A. S. Gill told journalists.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm.

Historic Jaipur, which has a population of more than two million, is one of India’s top tourist resorts and a favourite attraction for foreigners.

State borders were sealed and a high alert sounded in Rajasthan state and neighbouring areas, police said.

They said there were no immediate reports of any backlash. “There is peace in the town. Nobody should worry,” Arvind Jain, a senior police official, told NDTV television.

US ambassador to Delhi David Mulford condemned the bombs, saying “there can be no possible justification for the murderous attack on innocent people.” The bombings took place as India marked the 10th anniversary of nuclear tests conducted on May 13 in Rajasthan, but it was unclear if there was any link.

Jaipur is popularly known as the ‘pink city’ because of the ochre-pink hue of its hill top forts, Hindu maharajah’s palaces and crenellated city walls.

Travel agents expressed concern over the bombings and urged calm.

India has been plagued by bombings across the country in recent years and routinely points the finger at foreign-based Muslim militant groups fighting New Delhi’s rule in the state of Kashmir—AFP