NEW DELHI, Sept 15: India’s Defence Minister A. K. Antony said on Monday he was seriously concerned about support for militants from Pakistan after a string of bomb attacks in the nation’s capital killed 22 people at the weekend.

His remarks came as police said they were closing in on several Muslim suspects for the bombings in the heart of New Delhi in which nearly 100 people were wounded.

India, which used to blame Pakistan for violent attacks in the country including in the occupied Kashmir, has in recent months become more cautious about making these allegations. Some of the violence may have been perpetrated by home-grown groups, it has said.

But on Monday Mr Antony reiterated long standing concerns.

“Militants are getting support from across the border and it is a matter of serious concern,” he said when reporters asked him if he thought militants were still sneaking in from Pakistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly rejected Indian allegations.

At least five bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded markets and streets of the capital on Saturday night wounding a 100 people.

A group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen sent an e-mail to television stations shortly after the first explosion saying it was responsible.

Police said on Monday they had identified Abdul Subhan Qureshi, a convent-educated computer expert and member of a banned Islamic students’ group, as the chief suspect in the New Delhi attack.

They said he was also involved in bombing the western city of Ahmedabad in July.

They are also looking for a man they named as Qayamuddin, also known as Ashfaque.

“We are close to cracking the case,” Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said. “We have picked up some people.”

Anger has mounted over the failure of the government to prevent attacks. More than 150 people have been killed after bombings in four major cities in recent months.

In each case, suspects were named and Muslims were rounded up, but the attacks continue.

“What’s changed?” asked an editorial in the Indian Express newspaper on Monday.Police are massively understaffed and under-resourced. There is no central database of militant suspects and little time for meticulous investigations.“We have not had a dedicated task force to look into the deficiencies in our counter-terrorism mechanism,” said B. Raman, a former head of

A prominent Muslim cleric accused the authorities of cracking down on innocent members of the community and warned it would fuel anger.

“Immediately after the Delhi blasts, the government has again started persecuting innocent Muslims by dragging them from their homes for questioning,” Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the chief cleric of Jama Masjid, told Reuters.

“Please stop this immediately across India or face the anger of Muslims in India.”

Analysts say there is already a sense of alienation among India’s minority Muslims, many of whom feel government efforts to stamp out Islamist militancy often victimise the entire community.

Alienation was also fuelled by communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, when around 2,500 people, mostly Muslims, were hacked and burnt to death. Little has been done to catch the culprits despite a national outcry.

—Reuters