Author:
Publication: The Associated Press
Date: October 26, 2001
Gauhati, India (AP) - A powerful
bomb exploded during a Hindu festival in India's northeast, killing four
people, including one child, and seriously wounding 24 others, officials
said Friday.
The bomb exploded late Thursday
beneath a stage erected for the worship of Durga - a Hindu goddess lionized
for her valor - in Gauripur town, local government official Prosanta Kumar
Borua said.
Hundreds of devotees were near the
stage at the time of the blast, Borua said. The hugely popular five-day
festival of Durga Puja, celebrated in many parts of the country Friday,
commemorates the victory of Durga over her enemies.
Borua said authorities suspect militant
groups or religious fundamentalists were behind the explosion. Several
hard-line Islamic rebel groups are active in the area, which borders Bangladesh.
Gauripur is 140 miles west of Gauhati,
the capital of Assam state.
