Bangladesh News

Bangladesh has asked the media not to jump to a conclusion about perpetrators of Tuesday’s bombing in Jaipur, while senior Indian officials are moving to expel illegal Bangladeshi workers from the state.

Senior Indian officials have aired suspicion over the past week that the Jaipur serial blasts bear the hallmarks of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami.

“The modus operandi, the way the bombs were manufactured and concealed in bags, is very similar to the way Huji operates,” said Pankaj Singh, a senior Rajasthan police officer.

While State Minister for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal on Wednesday said a “foreign hand” was suspected to be behind the blasts.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury told the media yesterday the people should not draw “hasty” conclusions about the bomb blasts.

“The media should not jump to a conclusion before investigations are completed,” he said.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liaqat A Chowdhury told the media on Thursday: “It is the Bangladesh government’s stated position not to allow its soil to be used for anti-India activities.”

Rajasthan’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore told the media on Friday the government would search out illegal Bangladeshi workers living in Rajasthan and expel them.

The bombs, all strapped to bicycles, ripped through a crowded shopping area in the popular tourist city in the evening, leaving 68 people dead and at least 216 injured.

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The Indian state government hasn’t named any suspects, but media reports have quoted police as saying they are investigating possible links between the attacks and the Bangladesh-based Huji, AP adds from Jaipur.

However, a previously unknown Islamic militant group calling itself the Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility on Thursday.

The claim of responsibility was made in a pair of videos and an emailed document. Authorities said they were investigating the communications to determine their authenticity.

“Some of the footage may have been meant to mislead,” said Vasundhara Raje, the state’s chief minister.

Police have released sketches of four men, about 18-25 years old, who are suspected of buying the bicycles and bags used in the bombings. Authorities have questioned more than a dozen people, but no arrests have been made.

Indian authorities say thousands of Bangladeshis illegally enter India every year looking for jobs, a charge Bangladesh denies.