Car Bomb at Film Studio in India Kills 23, Injures 31

A car bomb tore through an Indian film studio’s kickoff for a new movie Wednesday, killing 23 people and injuring 31 among a throng of movie-makers, fans and journalists.

Police suspected that the bombing was the work of political rivals of the movie’s producer, a lawmaker in Andhra Pradesh state.

The explosive-packed car detonated as hundreds were leaving festivities for the start of filming at D. Rama Naidu studio in Hyderabad, 800 miles south of New Delhi, the capital.

It created a crater 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep in the ground outside the studio. The death toll was expected to rise.

A car carrying six television journalists took the brunt of the blast, which blew the vehicle several feet in the air, witnesses said. All six inside the car died.

Hyderabad Police Chief Ram Pratap Singh said many of the injured lost limbs; seven were in serious condition. The wounded included the movie’s star, Mohan Babu, a popular actor in the region’s Telegu-language films.

Police found the engine of the car that carried the bomb and identified its owner, a government employee in Bangalore, 300 miles south of Hyderabad. Police did not say whether they believed that the man was linked to the attack.

There was no claim of responsibility. Singh said he suspected that the target was producer and politician Paritala Ravi, whose nose was broken in the blast.

Political leaders in this state often have their own private armies to settle scores.