Bangalore: Indian police defused three bombs on Sunday in the southern city of Bangalore and were examining possible terror links, officials said, a day after 14 people were wounded in two small blasts.
Bombs set by timer devices went off outside a packed stadium in Bangalore minutes before a match in the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket series, which features many foreign players, was due to begin on Saturday.
The blasts wounded at least 14 people and blew off a small portion of an outer wall of the stadium. Police later found a third bomb fitted with a timer and defused it.
On Sunday, three more unexploded bombs were found metres away from the stadium, said MR Pujar, a senior police officer in Bangalore.
“Give us some time, we will let you know who is behind this,” Pujar said.
“But it appears that the attempt is to scare people.”
A home ministry official in New Delhi said criminal gangs may have worked with a sleeper cell from a local militant group to carry out the blasts in Bangalore.
Ammonium nitrate, glycerin and nuts and bolts were used to make the bombs, a forensic science official said. Security experts say the Bangalore blasts underline gaps in the security system despite regular threats by militant groups and Indian assurances that heightened security was in place.
Saturday’s blasts came a day after the US State Department issued a travel alert to its citizens, saying the US government had received information about militant groups planning attacks in India.
India further tightened security in New Delhi and the northern hill town of Dharamsala, where two more IPL cricket matches are scheduled to be played later on Sunday.
“We have sensitised our staff in view of the Bangalore blasts. The security arrangements at the stadium are very tight,” Delhi Police official Rajan Bhagat told Reuters.
The high-profile IPL tournament features top players from several countries, including England, Australia and New Zealand.
India’s Congress party-ruled government is under pressure from the opposition for failing to tackle security issues effectively. Security has become an election issue ahead of eight key state polls over the next two years.
New Delhi is jittery about possible terror attacks leading up to the Commonwealth Games to be held in the capital in October, as well as during IPL matches, following threats by militant groups from Pakistan.
India has called a pause in peace talks with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed and which have been blamed on Pakistani groups.
It wants "credible steps" taken by Islamabad to bring the suspects to justice and says Pakistan has not done enough so far.
In 2008, one woman was killed and several wounded in several small blasts in Bangalore, which were blamed on homegrown militant groups from southern India.
