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Enlarge PhotoForensic experts inspect the site of a bomb blast outside a cricket stadium in Bangalore... Police defused three bombs on Sunday near cricket stadium in Bangalore, officials said, a day after 14 people were wounded in two small blasts.Bombs set by timer devices went off outside a packed stadium in Bangalore minutes before a match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket series, which features many foreign players, was due to begin on Saturday.
The blasts wounded at least 14 people and blew off a small portion of an outer wall of the stadium. Police later found a third bomb fitted with a timer and defused it.
On Sunday, three more unexploded bombs were found metres away from the stadium, said M.R. Pujar, a senior police officer in Bangalore.
"Give us some time, we will let you know who is behind this," Pujar said. "But it appears that the attempt is to scare people."
A home ministry official in New Delhi said criminal gangs may have worked with a sleeper cell from a local militant group to carry out the blasts in Bangalore.
Ammonium nitrate, glycerine and nuts and bolts were used to make the bombs, a forensic science official said.
IPL authorities decided on Sunday to shift two remaining IPL games from Bangalore to a new stadium on the outskirts of Mumbai due to security concerns in the southern city.
Security experts say the Bangalore blasts, the second this year underline gaps in the security system despite regular threats by militant groups and Indian assurances that heightened security was in place.
In February, a powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in Pune, killing 17 people. India has blamed the Indian Mujahideen, a homegrown militant group with links to militants in Pakistan, for the Pune attack.
WARNING
Saturday's blasts came a day after the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert to its citizens, saying the U.S. government had received information about militant groups planning attacks in India.
India further tightened security in New Delhi and Dharamsala, where two more IPL cricket matches are scheduled to be played later on Sunday.
The high-profile IPL tournament features top players from several countries, including England, Australia and New Zealand.
The central government is under pressure from the opposition for failing to tackle security issues effectively. Security has become an election issue ahead of eight key state polls over the next two years.
New Delhi is jittery about possible attacks leading up to the Commonwealth Games to be held in the capital in October following threats by militant groups from Pakistan.
India has called a pause in peace talks with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed and which have been blamed on Pakistani groups.
(Additional reporting and writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Charles ****)
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