By Anil Sharma
Jaipur, May 16 (IANS) The police said Friday they were questioning 18 suspects in connection with Jaipur’s bomb attacks and had identified the sellers of eight of 10 cycles on which the bombs were placed and exploded in crowded areas. Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister R.S. Rathore told reporters here that frantic efforts were on to find out the sellers of the remaining two cycles.

“We have the bills stating the names and addresses of the buyers,” Rathore said. “We are trying to verify the details.”

Rathore said that nine bombs exploded Tuesday evening at eight sites in Jaipur’s walled city. Officials had earlier said there were six sites.

He also put the number of dead at 63, up from the 61 announced Wednesday, and said the total number of injured were 142, down steeply from the earlier 216 given out by the government. He did not explain how different leaders were giving our varying figures.

“The police are questioning 18 people in connection with the explosions,” the minister said. “Forty illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Jaipur are also being questioned.”

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Crime) Saurab Srivastava, who was at the press conference, said the bags in which the bombs were concealed before being left on bicycles were “of a specific nature”.

“We are trying to get to the manufactures and sellers of these bags,” he said.

Minister Rathore said the police forces from Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were assisting the Rajasthan Police in the sweeping investigation into Jaipur’s first terror attack.

He said on the basis of the investigations, the police had issued sketches of four suspects and more would follow.

Rathore also referred to the large number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Jaipur following suspicion that the bombers may have been linked to Islamist groups from Bangladesh.

He said the number of Bangladeshi migrants was estimated to be about 2,500 in 2004. This number, he said, had risen to about 10,000 now.

“All of them give their addresses as 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. We are taking back their voter IDs and ration cards,” he said.