Police patrol city after Indian mosque bombing
Hundreds of police in riot gear were on duty today throughout the mostly deserted streets of Hyderabad, hoping to prevent anger over a mosque bombing from sparking more of the religious violence that has plagued the southern Indian city.
Most shops closed for a day-long strike in protest at Friday’s attack at the 17th-century Mecca mosque that killed 11 people, and the ensuing clashes with police that left five more dead.
Authorities across India were told to be alert for any signs of Hindu-Muslim fighting, and top officials called for calm.
Protesters planted black mourning flags across the city, and families of those killed prepared for funerals.
YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, where Hyderabad is located, called the bombing an act of “intentional sabotage on the peace and tranquility in the country”.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also condemned the attack, the second on a mosque in a year, and urged Indians to remain peaceful.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and officials refused to publicly say who they suspect.
Indian media reported that intelligence agencies were looking at a possible link to Islamic militant groups based in neighbouring Pakistan, India’s long-time rival.
None of the accounts offered any reasons why investigators would suspect Muslim groups in an attack on a mosque, but the militants are routinely blamed even when Muslims are targeted.
Such accusations stoke resentment among Muslims, who account for about 130 million of India’s 1.1 billion, about 80% of whom are Hindu.
After Friday’s bombing, groups of Muslims clashed with security forces in at least three parts of Hyderabad, and police used live ammunition and tear gas to quell the riots.
Five people were killed in the clashes, chief minister Reddy told reporters. He also said 11 people were killed in the bombing and 60 people were wounded in both the blast and clashes, updating earlier tolls.
Hyderabad, a city of seven million people, about 40% of whom are Muslim, has long been plagued by communal tensions – and occasional spasms of inter-religious bloodletting.
