Patil cautions against linking blasts to Malegaon attack

HYDERABAD:  Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Saturday cautioned against linking Friday's blast here to the Malegaon incident and said the explosion at the historic Mecca Masjid reveals a definite design in which religious places are attacked to create bad blood between different communities.
 
"Let us not jump to any conclusion...the Malegaon case is being examined and this will also be investigated," he said adding there is a design to attack not only mosques but also churches and temples.

After a visit to the blast site and the hospital where the injured are being treated, Patil along with Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy told reporters that both the Centre and the state will leave no stone unturned to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

"It appears that at many places in the country religious places are attacked so that it bad blood develops between different communities and spread to various states," he said.

Over 35 people were killed in a similar attack in Maharashtra's power loom town of Malegaon in September last year.