India: 10 hurt in bus station blast

A bomb exploded at a crowded bus station in a southern Indian city today, wounding at least 10 people, police said.

At least three buses were damaged in the explosion in Karimnagar, 105 miles north of Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Andhra Pradesh state, said Devender Singh Chauhan, the local police chief.

The 10 people wounded in th blast included three drivers, Chauhan said. Two of those hurt were seriously injured, he said.

Chauhan said the bomb apparently was planted in a lunch box. He said it exploded seconds after a passenger spotted smoke coming out of the box, lying abandoned on one of the platforms.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast, but Chauhan said police suspected Maoist rebels who have been fighting for more than three decades, demanding land and jobs for agricultural workers and the poor.

The northern part of Andhra Pradesh state, where Karimnagar is located, is a stronghold of the rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong.