Delhi court bombing

Security officials have arrested the owner of an Internet cafe in the southern region of Indian-administered Kashmir where they suspect the email claiming responsibility for the bombing was sent. The police have also released sketches of two suspects wanted for questioning.

A militant organization called Harkat ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) is believed to have sent an email to the Indian National Investigation Agency claiming responsibility for Wednesday's bombing. In the email, the organization demanded that India repeal the death sentence of a man accused of an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

HUJI warned it would carry on such attacks until the government gave in to its demands. The militant outfit is believed to be connected with al Qaeda and has bases in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Kashmir separatists suspected

However, Indian investigators believe that the email could also be from separatist organizations in Indian-adminstered Kashmir where several Islamist groups have been fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region.

"We have some leads but it is too early to say which group is behind it," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters on his plane as he returned late Wednesday from an official visit to Bangladesh. Singh apologized for his government's inability to avert the attack and said there were "unresolved problems and weaknesses" in the system which terrorists were taking advantage of.

Loss of credibility

Singh's government was sharply criticized for failing to put in place sufficient security measures at such a high-profile location as the High Court in the Indian capital, especially as the blast came only days ahead of the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

A powerful bomb, weighing two kilograms and hidden in a briefcase outside the main entrance of the High Court, killed more than 10 people on Wednesday. The High Court was also bombed in May, but caused no injuries. It was the first major attack on Indian soil since triple blasts in Mumbai on July 13 killed 26 people. It has still not been established who carried out those bombings.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Grahame Lucas