The blast could have been caused by an unexploded military shell in the city of Meerut. There is a large military base there.

'It is clearly an accident. Terrorism has been ruled out,' said Brij Lal, deputy police chief of the state.

A wave of bomb attacks has hit India in recent months, killing more than 200 people. Police have blamed most of those attacks on Muslim militants, although some Hindu militants have also been suspected of carrying out several attacks. -- REUTERS