India fears reprisals after bombs kill 20

India was braced for violent reprisals after one of the holiest Hindu cities was targeted by a series of bomb attacks which left 20 people dead.

One of the explosions in the city of Varanasi went off inside a temple when it was crowded with thousands of worshippers.

High alerts were issued in Delhi, Bombay and cities across India yesterday, as the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, called for calm. There was no claim of responsibility, but initial suspicions fell on Islamic militants, who have targeted Hindu temples in India in the past.

No one doubts the danger of Hindu-Muslim violence in India. In 2002, more than 2,000 people were killed in revenge attacks in Gujarat after Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire that was blamed on Muslims.

The attack could also set off dangerous tensions between India and Pakistan, which Indian politicians have repeatedly accused of being behind similar attacks in the past. Just four years ago, the two nuclear-armed rivals almost went to war after a series of attacks by Islamic militants in India.

Details of the blasts in Varanasi were sketchy last night. The city was packed with Hindu pilgrims and it was not clear if the death toll would rise. The first explosion went off in the Sankat Mochan temple, one of the oldest and most revered in the city, in the early evening, the busiest time of the day, and it was clear that worshippers had been targeted.

Television pictures showed worshippers in shirts soaked with the blood of the wounded they had carried to safety. The crowds tore down gates from neighbouring buildings to use as makeshift stretchers. "It was a high intensity blast," a man identified as Pradeep told India's CNN-IBN television. "After the blast people were running like anything."

Moments later two bombs went off at Varanasi Cantonment railway station, which would also have been packed at that time of day. One of the blasts was in the ticket hall, the other went off in a train carriage. It was not clear how many casualties there were at each site. There were unconfirmed reports that more bombs had been found and defused at a restaurant and at one of the ghats, the bathing platforms where Hindu pilgrims immerse themselves in the holy waters of the Ganges and cremations are carried out. For Hindus, an attack on Varanasi is the emotional equivalent of an attack on the Vatican for Catholics. The temple-thronged city is a major pilgrimage site. Hindus believe it is auspicious to die or be cremated in Varanasi, and many elderly Hindus live their final years there. Others have their bodies taken to Varanasi for cremation after their deaths. Tuesday is the most important day of prayer at the Sankat Mochan temple, which is holy to the god Hanuman.