The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Monday alleged a Congress conspiracy to defame the Sikh community through the twin blasts in New Delhi's cinema halls that killed one and injured 60.

SAD president and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal told reporters that the Congress could be "behind the blasts" that occurred Sunday in Liberty theatre and the Satyam multiplex in Delhi during screening of the controversial film "Jo Bole So Nihaal".

Demanding a thorough inquiry, Badal said: "The Congress could have a role in this (the blasts). It must be investigated."

Sikh community leaders and organisations had opposed the film on grounds that it hurt their religious sentiments.

The film had been pulled out of theatres in Punjab and Chandigarh Friday after the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) - the apex body of Sikh politico-religious affairs - sought a ban.

Punjab had seen terrorism at close quarters for nearly 15 years starting 1981 when Sikh terrorists demanded a separate homeland for the community.

Other north Indian states, including national capital Delhi, also witnessed a fall-out of the violence during that time.

Senior Punjab police officers here said they did not see Sikh militancy being revived in Punjab following the Sunday blasts.

Punjab and its capital Chandigarh were put on high alert following the blasts even though the controversial film had been withdrawn from cinema halls in the state.

In neighbouring Haryana, too, the film was withdrawn Monday from theatres.