NEW DELHI, 27 June 2003 — A crude bomb exploded in Ahmedabad, the main city of the western Gujarat state, yesterday, sparking fears of fresh communal violence as authorities braced for an annual “Rath Yatra”, or chariot procession, beginning July 1.

“Fortunately, though the blast was loud, the bomb was a low intensity one that injured no one,” a senior police officer said.

The bomb went off in the Vatva neighborhood that bore the brunt of the sectarian violence that rocked Gujarat last year.

Yesterday’s explosion was the latest in a series of bomb blasts this week that left four people dead and several others injured.

The blast, eyewitnesses said, blew off the concrete roof of the house. While the cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained, it is said, explosives may have been stored in a secret chamber in the roof.

“The blast may have been caused by explosive mixture stored inside the house. Investigations are on to verify the nature of the explosives,” additional Commissioner of Police Keshav Kumar said.

The repercussions of the blast, despite its low impact, were felt immediately, with panicky residents and an already tense police force getting further busy putting security arrangements in place to ward off possible communal clashes during the annual Hindu festival.

“We have deployed more forces in Vatva to prevent any untoward incident. The situation is under control now,” said the police officer.

The annual procession of chariots carrying idols of Hindu deities will pass through several neighborhoods that have witnessed communal trouble in the past.

Though the event is usually marked by a show of communal harmony, the procession raises fears of violence each time.

Police have started combing operations at night to search for illegal arms. Pickets have been set up at various points on thoroughfares to check the movement of suspicious vehicles.

On July 1, Chief Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the procession at 7.00 a.m. from the Jagannath Temple. The chariots will return to the temple at 7.30 p.m. after covering several parts of the city including the Muslim-populated walled quarter.

The anti-riot Rapid Action Force (RAF), other paramilitary forces as well as the police will be deployed all along the procession’s route and form a cordon around the chariots.

But despite the precautions, the tension is palpable. In a major development Monday, the police gunned down two sharpshooters allegedly from the Bombay underworld. They were said to be conspiring to kill political leaders on the eve of “Rath Yatra”.

Apart from this, a crude bomb exploded at a shrine revered by Muslims on Saturday. The explosion and shootout have kept tension alive in Ahmedabad, one of the worst hit cities during last year’s riots.

Many petty arguments have snowballed into potentially explosive communal confrontations forcing the police to intervene.