India to identify Bangladeshi suspects

NEW DELHI, May 19 (UPI) -- Police in India's Rajasthan state have launched a massive drive to identify Bangladesh nationals following Tuesday's series of deadly bomb blasts in Jaipur.

Police officials have questioned 25 Bengali-speaking persons in the town of Kushalgarh in the tribal-dominated Banswara district to ascertain whether they played a role in the blasts that killed 64 people, a state police official said Monday. The state government said it was not clear about the exact number of Bangladeshis legally or illegally staying in the state.

According to state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore, there could be 10,000 Bangladeshis living in the city of Jaipur itself. State Interior Minister Gulab Chand Katara in a recent statement said there could be 50,000 Bangladeshi nationals living in the state.

The government said 10 Bangladeshis were identified in Jaipur south and two Bangladeshis in Jaipur east. The government admitted issuing ration cards to Bangladeshis and also that some of them were listed as voters in the voters' list. The police and investigating agencies suspect that Bangladesh-based terror outfit Hizbul-Jehadi-Islami carried out the blasts, The Times of India newspaper reported Monday.

"We questioned these people to find out their credentials. It is part of a statewide drive against Bangladeshis," said Prabhulal Chavda, an officer of the Banswara police.