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(New Delhi) A series of co-ordinated bombings rocked a packed railway station and crowded Hindu temple Tuesday in the holy Indian city Varanasi, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens in an attack that raised fears of communal violence.

Cities across India were put on high alert as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm, said his spokesman, Sanjaya Baru. "Stern action will be initiated against all those found involved," said Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the state where Tuesday's blasts occurred.

The attacks, which injured at least 62 people, came only days after Hindus and Muslims fought in the streets of Lucknow, leaving four people dead, during a visit to India by President George W. Bush. The next day, angry Hindus looted Muslim shops and burned vehicles in the coastal resort Goa in a dispute over a mosque demolition.

It was unclear whether Tuesday's bombings in Varanasi, 724 kilometres east of New Delhi, were the work of anti-government or anti-Hindu militant groups or were connected to Bush's visit.

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