Investigators have found no link yet between Kashmiri rebels and gunmen who attacked a disputed religious site last week, Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil said yesterday. âWe would not like to blame anybody or we would not like to spare anybody if they are involved. We have yet to come to any conclusion,â he said in Srinagar, Indian Kashmirâs summer capital, at the end of a day-long trip to the region. âWe do have some information but prematurely we would not like to disclose that,â Patil added.Five heavily armed militants were killed last week after they blasted their way into a religious complex in Ayodhya and tried to attack a makeshift temple to the Hindu deity Ram built by Hindu fanatics in 1992 after they demolished the 16th century Babri Mosque. A sixth person, whose identity is still unknown, also died in the attack. Indian media reports have pointed finger of blame at Kashmirâs hard-line Lashkar-e-Taiba group but no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Kashmirâs dominant rebel outfit Hizbul Mujahedeen has denied any role and blamed âHindu extremistsâ for the attack.
Kashmir police said they have received photographs of the Ayodhya attackers with a request by investigators to try to find out if they were Kashmiri rebels. In the past, New Delhi has blamed militant groups it alleges are backed by Pakistanâs Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for armed strikes not only in Kashmir but also in other parts of the country.