A crowded temple and a train station in Hinduism's holiest city were rocked by explosions Tuesday. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured, officials said.
It's not clear what caused the blasts in the city of Varanasi, which is about 700 kilometres east of New Delhi. Political leaders are suggesting they were bombings.
At least 10 people died in what appeared to be two bombings at the train station in Varanasi -- one inside a train car and another at a ticket counter.
Another two people were killed in the blast at a Hindu temple on the banks of the holy Ganges River, said Kamlesh Pathak, a senior official in the city.
The Sankat Mochan temple was packed with devout Hindus making a nightly offering to the monkey-god Hanuman, said Madan Mohan Pande, a police inspector.
At least 22 people were wounded in the explosions, said police official Mohammed Hashmi.
Televised pictures showed a bloodied man lying on a stretcher, and a woman laying on the floor, holding up her arms to people helping to pull her away from the temple.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the explosions, but appealed for calm.
"The prime minister has appealed for people to remain calm. The government is dealing with the situation and people should maintain peace," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's spokesman said.
The blasts have sparked fears of sectarian strife in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, and come just days after Muslims and Hindus clashed in the nearby city of Lucknow. Hindus also looted Muslim shops in the coastal resort of Goa.
Home Secretary V.K. Duggal said Tuesday's blasts were similar to bombings last October in New Delhi, which killed at least 60 people and wounded more than 100.
In both cases, the explosions occurred within 10 minutes of each other, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. Most previous attacks on Hindu temples in India have been blamed on Islamic militants.
Some are worried this will lead to a repeat of Hindu-Muslim violence that rocked western India in 2002, after a fire on a train killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. The fire, blamed on Muslims, prompted rioting that killed 1,000 people over three months.
"One can't underestimate the kind of upset that an event like this can cause in a country predominantly Hindu," said CTV South Asian bureau chief Matt McClure.
"When something happens like this at one of the holiest sites, this provokes some sort of retaliatory action against the Muslim minority in this country."
The city of Varanasi is India's holiest for its majority Hindu population. Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi and being cremated on the banks of the Ganges ensures release from the cycle of rebirth.
It is also popular with backpackers and tourists.
With files from The Associated Press
