Bombs Kill 26 in India; Sikhs Blamed

Seven bombs, including some concealed in sewing machines, killed 26 people and wounded 50 in the Punjab town of Batala today, police said.

“We suspect Sikh terrorists are behind the explosions,” Batala Police Chief S. M. Sharma said.

A police spokesman in Punjab’s state capital of Chandigarh said the bombs exploded in rapid succession at a crowded marketplace in a Hindu neighborhood.

“There were seven explosions. They were so powerful that limbs of victims flew all over the place,” the spokesman said.

Planted on Bicycles

Sharma said some of the explosives were concealed in two sewing machines that were left on bicycles 200 yards apart.

“Some of the injured are in critical condition,” Sharma said in a telephone interview. Injured were 22 Hindus, three Sikhs and a Christian.

“We have imposed a curfew in the area and more police are being set to counter any retaliation” in case of a Hindu backlash of violence, Sharma said.

The police spokesman in Chandigarh said the state’s borders with Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir were sealed after the blasts. “We have also announced a new statewide alert,” he said.

Area Is Searched

He said police and paramilitary troops were searching the Batala area. No arrests were reported.

Batala, 30 miles north of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, has a population of 150,000. Hindus outnumber Sikhs in the town and control trade.

Late Thursday, 11 people were killed when Sikh attackers fired on a bus in northern Punjab after the driver ignored their warnings to stop near Gujarpura, 30 miles northeast of Amritsar, police said.