Mumbai, India - Thirty-five people were feared killed in a series of explosions on Friday in a town in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, TV reports said.
Three blasts, including two at a Muslim burial ground, took place in Malegaon town, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Mumbai, India's financial hub, its mayor Asif Sheikh told Times Now TV.
He said 35 people were dead, including many children. About 50 were injured, he added.
In New Delhi, junior home minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters he had reports of 27 deaths and an equal number injured.
Police said thousands of people had gathered at the burial ground for Friday prayers.
Friday also marked "Shab-e-Barat" or the "night of forgiveness or atonement", when Muslims pray for the dead. They also believe that prayers on the day, which comes just before the holy month of Ramadan, absolve them of sins.
Television visuals from Malegaon showed people running in panic minutes after the blast, jumping over bodies on the street. Bleeding people were being carried away by others or pushed in hand carts.
"I've seen seven dead bodies being carried inside the hospital," Malegaon resident Suresh Nikam told NDTV from outside a local hospital.
"People have shut their shops and are going back home. People were disturbed when the incident took place but now they are coming out to help each other. People have also reached the hospital to donate blood," he said.
Police said Malegaon, which has a history of religious violence, was tense as groups of people had gathered around the town and were shouting slogans against authorities.
A curfew had been imposed to prevent trouble.
The blasts came days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that intelligence agencies had warned of more terrorist attacks across the country, possibly on economic and religious targets as well as on nuclear installations.
A Home Ministry official in New Delhi said federal forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF) used for riot control, were being rushed to Malegaon.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the blasts were an attempt to disturb peace and communal harmony and appealed to people to stay calm.
India has been on a heightened security alert after a series of bombs on commuter trains in Mumbai killed 186 people in July. The attack was blamed on Islamist militant groups with links across the border in Pakistan.
Additional police were also being deployed across Mumbai to prevent any trouble, police said.
Malegaon has suffered religious violence in the past. In May, police recovered a cache of explosives and automatic rifles from the town based on information they said was provided by arrested Islamist militants.