Blasts in two states 'aimed to spark clashes'

New Delhi: Bomb blasts outside offices of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Tamil Nadu in January were aimed to inflame communal passions, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said Wednesday.

Giving details of the explosion, Patil said Kumar Pradhan, who died at the scene, was alleged to have fallen to Muslim assailants.

"His brother Ravi and his friends conspired to plant a pipe bomb in front of the RSS office. Another bomb exploded in a bus. The intent was to trigger clashes between Hindus and Muslims," Patil told Rajya Sabha.

Patil was replying to a question from Communist Party of India-Marxist member Brinda Karat about the Tenkasi bomb blasts and the alleged involvement of Hindu Munnani men in the "terrorist acts" and implications on national security.

She also sought answers from the minister on whether blasts in Nanded in Maharashtra were also of a similar nature.

Patil said the Maharashtra police had found that "some people from the Bajrang Dal (were) involved in the Nanded blasts" in April 2006. He told the House that "when objections were raised about the impartiality of the Maharashtra police, the investigations were handed over to the anti-terrorist squad. When objections were raised again, the case was handed over to the CBI. Results of all the investigations were the same".

Amid repeated protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) benches, he said all the blasts were proof of a concerted bid to create bad blood between sections of society.