Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Near simultaneous blasts in three cities in India's most populous state killed at least 13 people and injured 61 others in a coordinated attack on the nation's justice system.
The attacks occurred near civil courts in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh state, Varanasi and Faizabad, Amjad Hussain, deputy director in the state's information department said. The devices all exploded at about 1:30 p.m. local time, said A.K. Jain, inspector-general of police in Lucknow.
Mosques, trains and cinemas have been bombed in India in the past year in attacks that target civilians in major cities across the country. Blasts in Varanasi, a religious and cultural city on the banks of the river Ganges, in March last year killed eight and injured 50 people.
``These are all soft targets. Weapons and explosives are no more a challenge for these groupings,'' said Ajai Sahni, an executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management. ``Uttar Pradesh has long been a target because it's a poorly administered state and a poor state.''
The blasts prompted the police in the capital New Delhi, which shares a border with Uttar Pradesh, to increase checks at bus stands, airports, shopping areas and railway stations, Rajan Bhagat, spokesman of Delhi Police, said.
The government will pay 200,000 rupees ($5,035) to families of those killed in the attack and 50,000 rupees to the injured, CNN-IBN channel reported.
Unexploded Bomb
Three blasts in Varanasi killed nine people and injured 47, Chief Minister Mayawati said in a televised news conference. Four people died in two blasts in Faizabad and 14 were injured, while no one was hurt in the blast in Lucknow, she said.
An unexploded bomb has been found with a timer device in the state capital, Mayawati said.
``It's too early to say who are behind the blasts, but it is very clear that the blasts were pre-planned,'' Shriprakash Jaiswal, junior federal home minister, told reporters in New Delhi in a televised broadcast. ``The investigating agencies have got down to the job.''
Images on CNN-IBN and NDTV 24X7 television networks showed policemen collecting evidence from the site of the blasts, with a mangled motorcycle at one location and a twisted black bicycle at another. A victim at the site in Faizabad lay in a pool of blood, while lawyers retrieved another from debris.
Alleged Terrorists
The blasts come a week after three alleged terrorists were arrested in Lucknow for plotting to kidnap a politician in the state, Press Trust of India reported.
Lawyers in the city assaulted the alleged kidnappers when they were being escorted by police to the court, the newswire said on Nov. 17.
Varanasi, located 670 kilometers (415 miles) southeast of New Delhi, is Hinduism's holiest city. Many Indians believe that anyone dying on the banks of the river Ganges attains instant enlightenment and a dip in the water atones for all sins.
Tourists from across the world come to the city, attracted by the more than 100 ghats, or a paved flight of stairs leading to the river bank, where pilgrims offer prayers. Narrow lanes wind through the city, dotted with shops and temples that date back centuries. Sarnath, located about 10 kilometers from the city, is where Gautam Buddha gave his first sermon.
Faizabad is the town located adjacent to Ayodhya, where the 16th century mosque Babri Masjid was demolished on Dec. 6, 1992. More than 1,500 people across India were killed in Hindu-Muslim riots after the demolition.
Previous Attacks
An explosion in a movie theater in October killed six people and injured more than 30, two days after a blast at a Sufi shrine in Ajmer, in the western state of Rajasthan, killed two. Police said the attack on the multiplex in Ludhiana, an industrial town in the northern state of Punjab, 305 kilometers (190 miles) north of New Delhi, was a terrorist attack.
In August, two bombs exploded in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, killing 40 people and injuring another 50.
Hyderabad has a Muslim population among its 6.5 million residents. A bomb at a mosque on May 18 killed 11 people when it exploded during Friday afternoon prayers.
Explosions on commuter trains and at railway stations in Mumbai, India's financial capital, on July 11 last year left 184 people dead.
The Mumbai explosions, the worst attack in 13 years, caused the 44-month-old peace process between India and Pakistan to break down, an initiative that resumed in November.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kartik Goyal in New Delhi at ashokb@bloomberg.net; Subramaniam Sharma in New Delhi at ssharma@bloombrg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Foxwell at sfoxwell@bloomberg.net.
Location of Uttar Pradesh within India.
Five bombs went off nearly simutaneously in three Indian cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Court houses in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad were rocked. The attack on the justice system killed 13 people and injured another 61.

"These are all soft targets. Weapons and explosives are no more a challenge for these groupings," said Ajai Sahni, an executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management. "Uttar Pradesh has long been a target because it's a poorly administered state and a poor state."

Police in New Delhi have increased security at bus stands, airports, shopping areas and railway stations. According to CNN IBN, the government will pay Rs.200,000 to the families of those killed. Those who were injured will receive Rp.50,000.

In Lucknow, an unexploded device with a timer was found. All the other bombs went off at around 1:30 p.m. IST (UTC+5:30).

"It's too early to say who are behind the blasts, but it is very clear that the blasts were pre-planned," according to Shriprakash Jaiswal, a junior home minister. "The investigating agencies have got down to the job."