Bombings Kill 31, Injure 125 in Mainly Muslim City in India

A pair of sandals lie near a motorcycle after a pair of bombs exploded in Malegaon, about 188 miles northeast of Mumbai, India, killing 22 Muslim worshippers returning from Friday afternoon prayers. (AP)

NEW DELHI, Sept. 8 -- At least two bombs rigged to bicycles exploded Friday in the town of Malegaon in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, killing 31 people and injuring 125 more, most of them Muslim worshipers leaving a mosque after Friday afternoon prayers.

The first bomb went off in a graveyard, and the second on a crowded street a short distance away, officials in the local police control room said.

Thousands of people were out on the streets Friday to mark Shab-e-Barat, also called the night of atonement or forgiveness, a Muslim religious event in which people offer prayers for the souls of dead relatives in graveyards.

"It is a terrorist act. It is done by people who don't want peace," said Vilasrao Deshmukh, the state's chief minister, according to the Associated Press. There was no immediate assertion of responsibility, but some officials called the attacks an attempt to resume India's long history of communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.

In July, a series of bombs detonated on commuter trains in Mumbai, also known as Bombay, killing 182 people and wounding more than 800, most of them Hindus. Police later arrested several Muslim men in connection with those attacks.

Malegaon, a predominantly Muslim city whose economy is dominated by textile production, is located about 160 miles northeast of Mumbai. It has been the scene of communal fighting in the past.

Television footage on Friday showed chaos as hundreds of people, mostly men in white skullcaps, rushed around in panic after the explosions. There were scenes of people carrying the bodies of the dead and injured. Doctors worked on bloodied survivors brought in on stretchers. People seeking loved ones viewed bodies laid out on the ground, covered by white shrouds.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts, appealing in a statement for "peace and communal harmony." He was consulting with officials from the central government and the local state.

National security forces, including personnel from the anti-riot Rapid Action Force, were being sent to Malegaon, according to the Press Trust of India.

Police said groups gathered around the town and shouted slogans against the local authorities. A curfew was imposed in an attempt to prevent further violence.