58 people killed after explosions rip New Delhi
10 suspects arrested
BY MIKE MCPHATE
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Newsday

October 30, 2005

NEW DELHI, India -- Bombs tore through two major markets and a city bus on the busiest shopping weekend of the year yesterday, killing at least 58 people and injuring scores ahead of India's main Hindu and Muslim festivals.

Varun Singh, 33, was shopping for clothes with his wife and two daughters in the bustling central Delhi market of Paharganj when he saw a spark overhead. Then, precisely at sunset, there was a "huge explosion," he said. Within 30 minutes, two more blasts occurred in the south Delhi market of Sarojini Nagar and on the bus in Govindpuri.

PHOTO: AP

An Indian policeman stands guard at the scene of an explosion at Saroijini Market in New Delhi.

By late evening, police had arrested 10 people in connection with the blasts, according to local reports. India's Home Ministry said it was too early to assign blame, but others were quick to point the finger at Pakistan, a long-time foe. Dozens of militant groups, many fighting in Kashmir, have opposed the Indian government, and some oppose the peace process between India and Pakistan.

The first explosion gutted a pharmacy and garment shop, ripped cycle-rickshaws to pieces and littered the outdoor bazaar with broken glass, blood, smoking debris and human bodies.

After nightfall at Lady Hardinge Hospital, Singh, a government clerk with silver stubble, slumped on a metal bench. His shoulders quivered and he began to cry.

"My daughter is dead," he said. Navita Singh was 17.

V.K. Malhotra, a leader of the opposition BJP party, told the Press Trust of India that "Delhi has become the den of terrorists. Hundreds of terrorists, ISI [Pakistan's intelligence agency] agents and Pakistanis have been arrested and a huge quantity of arms and explosives ... seized in the recent past," he added.

India often accuses its neighbor of sponsoring terrorism. In 2001, five gunmen identified as Pakistani nationals attacked India's Parliament. All five were killed. In 2003, the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was blamed for a car-bombing near the Gateway of India, Bombay's top tourist attraction, that killed more than 50 people.

Ties had improved in recent months, however, with a fresh peace initiative, whose high point was the opening of a bus link between the Indian and Pakistan-controlled halves of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory claimed by both countries.

The October earthquake that struck northern regions of both countries also was viewed as an opportunity for cooperation, and yesterday's violence came on the same day that the pair agreed to open their heavily fortified border to help quake victims.

Pakistan quickly condemned yesterday's blasts. "The attack in a crowded marketplace is a criminal act of terrorism," a Foreign Ministry statement said. "The people and government of Pakistan are shocked at this barbaric act and express deep sympathy with the families of the victims."

In recent days, homes and markets throughout New Delhi have been adorned with colorful strings of lights for the Hindu celebration of Diwali, known as the festival of lights, on Tuesday. The festival of Eid ul-Fitr, the day on which Muslims break their month-long Ramadan fast, arrives Thursday.

Yesterday, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit warned residents to avoid going to public places over the next two or three days, saying by telephone the attacks "have dampened our spirits at a time when we were feeling joy." In retrospect, she added, the violence should not have come as a surprise. "Like we say in India: We know that there's a snake there in the room, but where it's going to strike you can never know," she said.

Subhash C. Kashyap, a political analyst with Delhi's Center for Policy Research, an independent think tank, said that he expects India to push forward with the peace process, but that calls for a harder approach against Pakistan will gain strength.

"After all, it is Pakistan which is the hotbed of terrorism," he said. "We are a very tolerant people, but perhaps too much."

Tarun Shukla contributed to this story.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.