NEW DELHI, March 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Three serial explosions ripped through the crowded Hindu holy city of Varanasi in north India's Uttar Pradesh Tuesday evening, killing 15 people and injuring about 60, police said.

    The explosions rocked the city between 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The holy Ganges River flows through the city, attracting thousands of pilgrims across the country and abroad every day.

    "At least 15 people have died and 60 have been injured," Varanasi police chief Navneet Sikera told the press.

    While not ruling out a terrorist hand in the blasts, Sikera said they could be in retaliation for last month's arrest of a Lashker-e-Taiba militant.

    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately condemned the blasts as red alerts were sounded in several parts of the country, including Mumbai and Delhi.

    The Indian Home Ministry said the blasts were similar to the three serial blasts in Delhi October last year killing 66 people.

    The first blast took place in a very old Hindu temple named Sankatmochan temple at 6:15 pm. The temple was crowded with devotees as Tuesday is the day when Hindus invariably worship LordHanuman.

    The second blast happened 15 minutes later at the railway station, 11 km from the temple while the third blast occurred in acoach of an express train that was about to pull out.

    A live bomb was also found in Varnasi's Gudaulia residential area and was defused by the police bomb squad.

    In a statement in New Delhi Tuesday evening, the prime ministerappealed for peace and calm among the people.

    No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

    It was the second attack on a religious place in Uttar Pradesh after five Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists were killed in the attack tothe Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya on July 5, 2005.Enditem