Curfew imposed in Jaipur, 8 detained for questioning

A curfew has been imposed in the old city in Jaipur in western India after a series of bomb blasts killed at least 80 and left nearly 200 wounded.The bombs went off near historic monuments in the crowded old city on Tuesday evening.No group has admitted planting bombs in Jaipur. It is not yet clear what the motive for attacking the city might be.

The curfew began at 0900 (0300 GMT) on Wednesday and is expected to last till the evening.The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Jaipur says that the old city is completely deserted apart from journalists and policemen moving around.The bustling old city has been cordoned off by the police for investigation. Its shops will remain closed on Wednesday.

The areas under curfew are Lal Kothi, Adarsh Nagar, Transport Nagar, Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Ram Ganj, Galta Gate, Brahmpuri, Bhatta Basti, Kotwali, Nahargarh, Sanjay Circle, Jalubpura and Hasanpura Chowki in Sadar area.However, funeral processions have been exempted from the purview of the curfew.

Meanwhile, eight persons have been picked up for questioning in connection with the blasts even as investigations pointed out to the involvement of Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HUJI). The eight included a man who was injured in the explosions and a rickshaw puller, police said on Wednesday.Preliminary examination of the blast site indicated the possibility of ammonium nitrate being planted in new cycles and filled with ball bearings and small iron pipes to act as splinters, sources said.

The first blast took place at 7.20pm on Tuesday in the crowded Johari Bazaar and within 15 minutes seven more blasts occurred in adjoining areas in the walled city — near the Hanuman Mandir, which was milling with devotees, near Hawa Mahal, at Badi Chaupad, Tripolia Bazar and Chandpole.

Within minutes, the entire market was a picture of total chaos. People ran screaming, jumping over dead bodies and severed limbs, skirting mangled rickshaws and damaged cars. The piercing wail of ambulance sirens replaced the firecrackers that would go off every other day in Jaipur to celebrate its victorious Rajasthan Royals T20 team.

Terrorists displaying the telltale tactics of Lashkar-e-Taiba and SIMI struck with bombs planted on cycles and cycle-rickshaws. In the past three years, this is the 21st terror attack outside Jammu & Kashmir. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje said, "We will not tolerate this."

"I heard a deafening noise and I thought it was a [gas] cylinder blast," Hemanth Modi said.

Medical authorities have appealed for blood donations for the injured.

The Jaipur attack might have been worse had three unexploded bombs not been defused in the walled city area. Another bomb was defused in the upmarket Raja Park area, triggering fresh fears. Mercifully, the city was keeping calm.

Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks and the prime minister appealed for calm.