NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday appealed for calm as he flew to Hyderabad and visited some of the 117 people wounded in twin bombings last week which killed 16 people.

Mr Singh also visited the blast site in Dilsukh Nagar, where two bicycle bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other outside a cinema and near a bus stand on Thursday evening.

The prime minister met some of the blast survivors and medical staff in two hospitals. “It is most important that in this hour of grief the people should maintain calm,” he said.

“I am happy that the people of Hyderabad have refused to be provoked by this nefarious incident,” he told reporters.

“I pray for the speedy recovery of those who have been injured, to those who have died I send my condolences to all the bereaved families,” he added.

Hyderabad, one of the major hubs of India’s booming software industry, is the capital of coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The prime minister has vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of what he called a “dastardly” attack, the first major bombings in India since 2011.

His Congress Party-led government was criticised in parliament on Friday by the opposition, which said the bombings had exposed systemic security failures at a time when India is on heightened alert.

India’s main opposition BJP party mocked the premier’s one-day trip to Hyderabad, saying the blasts were a result of the Indian government’s failure to tackle terrorism.

“The prime minister’s visit to Hyderabad is a non-event,” BJP leader Balbir Punj told reporters in New Delhi.

“In fact, if he and his government had been sensitive to the issue of terrorism in this country... this attack would not have taken place,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy has said investigators have found “vital clues” but gave no details.

Newspapers have pointed the finger at the Indian Mujahideen, a banned militant outfit which has claimed responsibility for previous attacks.

The fitting of the explosive devices to bicycles was similar to other attacks by the outfit, media reports quoted investigators as saying.

The home-grown group has links to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant outfit blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives, according to Indian intelligence officials.

New Delhi has long accused its neighbour of aiding and abetting the militant groups who have carried out attacks on Indian soil – a charge that Pakistan rejects.—AFP