NEW DELHI, 23 May 2005 — One person was killed and 49 were wounded yesterday when explosions ripped through two cinemas here screening a controversial film condemned by Sikhs, police said.

Though the official toll has been put at one dead, local media said there had been seven fatalities. A loud explosion shook the Liberty Cinema Hall in the crowded shopping district of Karol Bagh during a film screening and was followed by a bomb blast in the Satyam cineplex in neighboring Patel Nagar.

Most of the injured were immediately rushed to the hospitals, Many are said to be in serious condition.

The bomb explosions occurred during the screening of the Hindi film “Jo Bole So Nihal.” The first explosion took place at Liberty Cinema at around 8 30 p.m. (IST), where the suspected bomb was placed under the fifth row of the rear stall. The second explosion was reported at Satyam Multiplex at 8.40 p.m. (IST), where the bomb was believed to have been placed in a bathroom, fire brigade sources said.

Following the explosions, the Delhi authorities closed operations at all the cinema halls. The authorities have banned the screening of the film until further notice.

Though the film, starring Sunny Deol and Kamal Khan and directed by Rahul Rawail, is not a religious film, the Sikhs were reportedly offended by the film title, with many claiming it hurt their religious sentiments.

For some time now, the film had been in the news as several Sikh groups wanted the title changed. The title of the film, “Bole So Nihal” is part of the battlecry or prayer, “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal” normally said by religious congregations at gurdwaras (Sikh temples).

Delhi Police chief K.K Paul said: “We have sealed both the cinema halls.”

According to the Delhi Police, an elderly man among the 18 people who were seriously injured had died in hospital. “Sita Ram, who was one of the 44 people injured in the explosion in Liberty Cinema Hall, died in hospital. He had slipped into coma due to head injuries and did not come out of it,” said a local police official.

He added that the condition of the six other people, including three children, who were injured in the Satyam cineplex was being monitored.

The Star News channel quoted a filmgoer as saying that he had pulled out seven dead bodies from the badly-damaged Liberty Cinema Hall.

Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit said there had been no deaths, while police declined to comment on the possibility of any fatalities.

The blasts occurred on the first anniversary of the Congress party, backed by its communist allies, taking power after ousting the Hindu nationalists.

The Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) which is the highest authority in the Sikh religion has demanded a ban on the film saying the contents of the movie and use of the prayer as a title had hurt Sikh religious sentiments.

The film was withdrawn from theaters across the northern Indian Sikh dominated state of Punjab last week following protests from the SGPC.

Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said a red alert had been sounded in New Delhi. “The police are on red alert... wherever the police feel precautions should be taken they will suspend shows in theaters. It seems there is a link between the two blasts,” he added.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts. Cinema halls in Delhi’s satellite townships of Ghaziabad and Noida canceled late night shows yesterday as a precaution.