Updated at 7.25 pm
MUMBAI: Police blamed a banned Islamic students' group on Monday for a string of bombings in a communally sensitive western town two months ago and said the attack was aimed at creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims.
Thirty-two people were killed in the textile town of Malegaon in September when three bombs exploded around a crowded mosque during Friday prayers, two months after blasts on Mumbai's railway network killed 186 people.
Malegaon, a Muslim-majority town in Maharashtra, has been notorious for Hindu-Muslim clashes and police have long eyed its residents with suspicion for everything from smuggling to terrorism.
“According to the evidence we have, the conspiracy was hatched in May by ex-SIMI members to create Hindu-Muslim tension,” said PS Pasricha, Maharashtra's police chief.
SIMI or the Students Islamic Movement of India was banned in 2001 for inciting religious hatred, including sparking riots.
Pasricha said so far 16 people -- all Indian nationals and former SIMI members -- had been implicated in the bombings, of whom eight had been arrested.
“These apart, there are two foreign nationals who are also at large,” he said.
He said one of the accused had received training near Karachi in Pakistan in 2003.
Police said they had enough evidence to back their claims, including confessional statements, forensic and lie detector reports.
“We also have an independent witness (who was) present when the bombs were being put together,” Pasricha said.
In the aftermath of the blasts, police released sketches of three suspects, two of whom they said had bought bicycles at local shops on which the bombs had been placed.
No one claimed responsibility for the attacks.
