Bomb Blast Kills 24, Injures 45 in India; Sikh Militants Blamed
AMRITSAR, India — A powerful bomb believed planted by Sikh militants exploded today in a crowded Hindu market near the Golden Temple and killed at least 24 people and injured 45, police said.
The United News of India press agency quoted unofficial sources as saying that more than 30 people were killed and 75 others wounded.
At least 12 of the injured were reported in serious condition at hospitals. Suresh Arora, senior police superintendent in Amritsar, said the dead included two Sikh policemen.
Officials clamped an indefinite curfew on the old walled city of Amritsar after the explosion.
About 300 people were in the market frequented by cloth merchants, yarn sellers and Hindu industrialists when the explosion occurred, witnesses said.
Angry people prevented police from coming to the spot about 200 yards from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
It was the fourth attack since Sunday for which Sikh militants have been blamed. At least 43 people have died in the latest violence, and most of the victims have been Hindus.
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