Bombings kill 20 in Hindu holy city

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NEW DELHI -- A series of coordinated bombings rocked a packed railway station and a crowded Hindu temple yesterday in the holy city of Varanasi, killing at least 20 persons and injuring dozens in an attack that raised fears of communal violence.

Cities across India were put on high alert as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm, according to his spokesman, Sanjaya Baru.

"Stern action will be initiated against all those found involved," said Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the state where the blasts occurred.

The attacks, which injured at least 62 persons, occurred only days after Hindus and Muslims fought in the streets of Lucknow, leaving four persons dead, during a visit to India by President Bush.

The next day, Hindus looted Muslim shops and burned vehicles in the coastal resort of Goa in a dispute over a mosque demolition.

It was not clear whether the bombings yesterday were the work of anti-government or anti-Hindu militant groups or were connected to Mr. Bush's visit.

Senior state official Kamlesh Pathak said two unexploded bombs -- one hidden in a pressure cooker and the other in a backpack -- were found at Varanasi's Godowalia market and defused by police.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that security officials found four unexploded bombs at a bathing platform on the banks of the Ganges, a few miles away.

The blast at the Sankat Mochan temple went off near dusk, when the shrine was crowded with Hindus making special Tuesday offerings to the monkey-god Hanuman, said police inspector Madan Mohan Pande.

At least 22 persons were wounded in the temple blast, police said. Televised footage showed debris, body parts and blood covering the temple floor.