Man arrested over India bomb blast

MAN ARRESTED: Indian police officials inspect the wreckage of a motorcycle in an area of the town of Modasa a day after a bomb blast killed one in a market area. (AFP)

Indian police have arrested a Muslim man in connection with a bomb blast in the west of the country that killed seven people and wounded more than 80, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Saturday.

Further investigations are under way and more arrests are expected, the PTI news agency said, quoting police.

Police said earlier this week they were treating the blast, in a crowded market near a mosque in Malegaon late Monday, as a terrorist attack.

A second, similar attack also took place late Monday in a predominantly Muslim area of Modasa in neighbouring Gujarat state, killing a boy and wounding nine others.

No one has claimed responsibility for either of the attacks, which occurred in places where relations between Hindus and Muslims have been strained in recent years.

Rioting and stone-throwing broke out in the predominantly Muslim town of Malegaon after the blast there, forcing officers to fire shots in the air to control angry crowds.

Two years ago, simultaneous bombings in the town killed 38 people and wounded more than 100. Most of the victims were Muslims.

The latest explosions came after a wave of attacks in Indian cities claimed by an Islamic militant outfit called the Indian Mujahideen, seemingly directed at middle-class Hindus.

Several major Indian cities - Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bangalore and New Delhi - have been hit by serial bombings since May.

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