80 dead as seven blasts rock Jaipur

Scores of people were taken to hospital in Jaipur. As per the sources, the Centre is sending National Security Guards to Jaipur.

According to Hindustan Times, the Haryana government sounded a red alert in the wake of multiple explosions in Jaipur.

Haryana Police Chief RS Dalal said the red alert has been declared as a precautionary measure.

In Indian Punjab, all district police chiefs have been directed by state Police Chief N P S Aulakh to step up vigil.

Government officials usually blame militants based in Pakistan for such attacks, which have plagued India in recent years.

Junior home minister Shriprakash Jaiswal told reporters, "The people responsible for these attacks have foreign connections," but he refused to point a finger directly at traditional foe Pakistan.

Police said seven blasts occurred within minutes of each other during the evening in crowded markets of old walled Jaipur, about 260 kilometres from New Delhi.

"It's a terror attack. There was no (intelligence) report of this," police director general AS Gill told reporters.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm, while the United States immediately condemned the wave of bombings.

"We're still collecting some information about this. But given the facts that we know now, quite clearly these bombs were intended to claim innocent lives and it's something that we very clearly condemn," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Historic Jaipur, which has a population of more than two million, is one of India's top tourist resorts and a favourite attraction for foreigners.

Jaipur is popularly known as the 'pink city' because of the ochre-pink hue of its hill top forts, Hindu maharajah's palaces and crenellated city walls.