Four foreigners hurt in a grenade blast which killed four devotees at a Hindu temple in Indias Manipur state were to be flown out Thursday, an official said, as police hunted for the attackers.
Around six other foreigners who had been attending festivities marking Lord Krishna's birthday at the temple in Imphal would be airlifted with them to New Delhi or to the major eastern city of Kolkata, senior police official Radheshyam Singh said.
The blast occurred late Wednesday in a temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as "the Hare Krishna" group, in the heart of Imphal.
At least 34 people were wounded in the attack, among them three United States citizens and a Swiss national. "There were about 10,000 devotees, including about 10 foreign nationals, when the blast took place," Singh told AFP from Imphal.
"The condition of one of the US citizens injured in the attack is stated to be very critical by doctors who had operated on him at a local hospital," he said.
"A special aircraft will arrive here later in the day to take back all the foreigners."
Police still had no clues as to who was behind the attack and none of the 19 rebel groups operating in the north-eastern state, with demands ranging from secession to more autonomy, have claimed responsibility. "We are yet to identify the group involved in the attack although one of the local outfits is definitely responsible for the explosion," Singh said.
"No arrests have so far been made. We are investigating the matter." "The attack is highly condemnable," the Peoples Liberation Army, a frontline outlawed rebel group in Manipur, said in a statement. Security was high at other Krishna temples across India where millions of Hindus joined in special prayers Wednesday.
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