India issues blast suspect sketch

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Police in India have issued a sketch of a man whom they want to question in connection with one of the attacks that hit the city of Jaipur this week.

A series of explosions killed 63 and left about 200 wounded in the crowded old city on Tuesday evening.

Police believe the man owned a bicycle used to plant one of the bombs. The motive for the attack remains unclear and no arrests have been made.

A curfew has been extended for the second day in the old city.

Jaipur, in Rajasthan, is a popular tourist destination about 260km (160 miles) from the Indian capital, Delhi.

Most people in Jaipur are Hindus but the city has a large Muslim minority. Correspondents say it has no history of religious violence.

'Undue haste'

There have been sporadic bomb attacks around India in recent years. The police have had little success in bringing prosecutions.

A Rajasthan police official said that the photofit picture of the suspect had been prepared on the basis of a detailed description provided by a shop owner in the city who sold the man a bicycle.

The police believe that the bicycle was used in planting one of the bombs in the old city.

The shop owner told the police that he remembered the man behaving "suspiciously" and appeared to be in "undue haste" when buying the bicycle, the official said.

Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje told reporters that the investigators had obtained some "slender leads".

Police say they are investigating a claim by a previously unknown group which said it carried out the attacks.

The claim was made in an email message to Indian news organisations, sent by the "Indian Mujahideen".

The email included a short video clip of a bicycle parked on a street with a bag strapped to it - the message says it is footage of one of Tuesday's bombs before it exploded.

The police said they were trying to verify whether the claim was genuine or a hoax.

RECENT BOMB ATTACKS August 2007: Bombs in open-air auditorium and restaurant in Hyderabad kill more than 40 May 2007: Bomb in historic Hyderabad mosque kills 14 February 2007: Twin blasts on train travelling from Delhi to Pakistan kills at least 66 people near Panipat July 2006: More than 160 killed by seven bombs on train network in Mumbai March 2006: Bombs at Hindu temple and railway station in Varanasi kill 15 October 2005: Three blasts in Delhi kill 62 Jaipur deals with aftermath In pictures: After the bombings Papers see pattern to blasts

The curfew in the walled city has been extended for a second day and security continues to be tight.

The curfew began at 0900 (0300 GMT) and is expected to last until early evening.

The bustling old city has been cordoned off by the police for investigation.

Police reinforcements have been deployed in the city to maintain order.

Security has been stepped up at airports and railway stations across the country, officials said.

Eight bombs went off in the heart of Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan state, starting at around 1915 on Tuesday.

Each came a few minutes apart and eyewitnesses spoke of panic and then a stampede in the crowded old walled city.

One bomb exploded close to Jaipur's most famous landmark, the historic Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds.

Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have condemned the attacks and the prime minister appealed for calm.

Jaipur is an extremely popular stop on India's primary tourist circuit known as "The Golden Triangle", which takes in other historic sites of Rajasthan and the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh state.

It is known as the Pink City, because of the colour of its forts, palaces and city walls.

On Tuesdays, many devotees flock to a popular shrine in Jaipur's old city.