Thirty-one persons were injured when unidentified youths hurled crude bombs at a mosque in Parbhani in Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
In view of the resulting tension, curfew was clamped on the district. The incident comes five days before Id-ul-fitar.
"Motorcycle borne youths hurled two crude bombs at the Mohamadia mosque in Rahmat Nagar locality when the religious congregation was dispersing after offering the Friday prayers," Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who also holds the home portfolio, told reporters in Mumbai.
The incident, which occurred at 1350 IST, triggered off an angry reaction with people ransacking market places in Gujri Sarafa and Shivaj Nagar and setting two shops on fire, sources said. However, the situation is now under control.
The injured have been rushed to the civil hospital in Parbhani and a statewide alert has been sounded, Bhujbal said adding senior police officials, including Director General of Police S M Shangari and Special Inspector General of Police (Nanded Range) Bhimrao Raut, rushed to the spot.
Minister of State for Home, Kripa Shankar Singh told PTI that paramilitary forces have been deployed in the district following the incident.