29 October 2005 Delhi bombings
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| 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings | |
|---|---|
 Delhi map showing the location of the bomb blasts: (1) Pahargunj, (2) Sarojini Nagar market, (3) Govindpuri |
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| Location | Delhi, India |
| Target(s) | Two markets and a bus |
| Date | 29 October 2005
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| Attack Type | Bombings |
| Fatalities | 61 |
| Injuries | 92 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Islamic Inquilab Mahaz, Lashkar-e-Taiba |
The 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings occurred on October 29, 2005 in the Indian city of Delhi, killing 59 people and injuring at least 200 others [1] in three explosions. The high number of casualties make the bombings the second deadliest terrorist attack in India. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of Diwali (which is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs [2], and Jains [3]). The bombs were triggered in two markets in central and south Delhi and in a bus in the Govindpuri area in the south of the city. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed terrorists for the deed. A Pakistan-based terrorist outfit, the Islamic Inquilab Mahaz claimed the responsibility for the blasts. This group is known to have links with the Kashmir separatist/ Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba. The tactics—using multiple strikes simultaneously or near-simultaneously—are a format used previously by Al Qaeda (in the Bali bombings, the Madrid train bombings and the 9/11 attacks).
President A P J Abdul Kalam condemned the blasts in Delhi and sent condolences to the bereaved and other victims of the loss of lives and damage to property. Kalam appealed to the people "to maintain calm and help the agencies in relief and rescue work." Nonetheless, several parts of India are reportedly on higher alert than they were before the blasts.
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[edit] Time line
IST is Indian Standard Time, which is equal to UTC+5.5
- The first blast took place in the main bazaar of Paharganj near the Delhi Railway Station at around 5:38 p.m. (IST).
- The second blast took place near a bus in Govindpuri area at 6:00 p.m. (IST) in the southern part of the city.
- Within minutes of the second explosion, at 6:05 p.m. (IST), the third explosion took place in South Delhi's busy Sarojini Nagar market.
[edit] Suspected bombers
- Lashkar behind Delhi blasts: Delhi police(rediff)
Dr K K Paul, commissioner of police Delhi, claimed that the Delhi police has zeroed down on the suspects behind the Delhi blasts and joint teams of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir police are now raiding various places along with intelligence agencies to nab the culprits.
- Addressing a crowded press conference in New Delhi Paul said that Tariq Ahmad Dar, executive in a multinational company, who was picked up from Srinagar was acting at a fund provider.
- The Delhi Police has released three sketches of one of the suspected bombers involved in last Saturday's serial blasts.
The sketches are based on eyewitness' description. According to them, the suspect is slim built, 21-22 years old and is 5 feet 5 inches tall.
He also had a bandage on left forearm and wore white, grey stripped shirt, grey trousers and sandals (NDTV).
[edit] Modus operandi and suspects
- The first explosion (Paharganj explosion) occurred outside Delhi Railway Station. The explosive device was planted in a two-wheeler (generic term used in India for any motorised vehicle with two wheels, such as a motorcycle or a motorscooter). When the bomb exploded, it ripped apart the M S Medicos, a medical shop outside which the two-wheeler was parked. According to Rediff.com the shop was badly damaged with glass strewn all over the street and blood splattered. When the explosion took place large number of people were eating golgappas in the adjoining snacks-cum-sweet shop resulting in the high number of deaths in the area.
- The Govindpuri explosion, which took place inside a bus, injured nine people, four critically. 35-40 people were travelling in the bus when the conductor of the bus spotted a suspicious plastic bag which none of the passengers claimed. The passengers were already suspicious as a man had climbed aboard the bus and refused to buy a ticket, according to the BBC, leaving his large, black bag aboard. The driver and conductor of the bus quickly alerted and disembarked the passengers and, by doing so, minimised the damage when the bomb was thrown out of a window. At the time of the explosion, only five people remained inside the bus. However, the driver and conductor sustained injuries in their rescue effort, and the driver's condition is critical according to NDTV.
- According to the Indian police, the Govindpuri bomb operated on an electronic timer.
- The third and the most devastating explosion took place in a very crowded corner of the busy Sarojini Nagar market. According to The Hindu website the eyewitnesses claim that the bomb was placed in a white colour Maruti van whose front and rear mirrors were shattered due to explosion. The bomb went off near a vendor using a gas cylinder, which exploded, triggering multiple explosions and leading to an outbreak of fire in a row of shops. Apart from resulting in the death of 43 people and injuring about another 28 people, half-a-dozen cloth shops and a few vehicles parked behind these shops were destroyed due to this explosion.
- According to NDTV, ten suspects have been detained following the blasts. Five of them were picked up from the Delhi Railway station and others from other railway stations and bus terminals.
- It is believed that the explosive used to carry out the blasts is RDX.
- The Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Front or Islamic Inquilab Mahaz, claimed responsibility for the Delhi terrorist attacks. The Mahaz has previous history of terrorism - It was one of the organizations involved in terrorist attacks in the south Pakistan city of Karachi against French, American and other citizens.
- Al Qaeda and the International Islamic Front (IIF), comprising Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, may be responsible for the Oct 29 blasts in Delhi, according to a terrorism expert (MSN).
[edit] Casualties
Thirty eight people were declared dead in Safdarjang hospital, ten in Lady Hardinge Hospital, five in Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and two in AIIMS. The number of fatalities has gone up to 61; the number of people injured has surged to at least 188. According to the website, the majority of the casualties occurred in the Sarojini Nagar market, where a bomb went off near a vendor using a gas cylinder, which exploded, triggering multiple explosions and leading to an outbreak of fire in a row of shops.
| 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings Casualties | |||
| Place | Deaths | Injured | Sources |
| Pahargunj blast | 18 | 60 | (Rediff) |
| Sarojini Nagar market blast | 43 | 28 | (Rediff) |
| Govindpuri blast | 0 | 4 | (Rediff) |
| Total | 61 | 92 | |
[edit] Contacts
- Delhi Police Control Room - 100
- Delhi Traffic Help Line - 91-11-2337-8888
- Lady Hardinge Hospital - 91-11-2334-3984
[edit] Rescue and relief operations
Relatives of the dead and injured will get money and medical help from the government:
- "Rs 3 lakh will be given as ex-gratia to next of the kin of every dead person, while those seriously injured will get Rs 50,000," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told reporters after visiting those injured in the serial blasts in Delhi that killed over 60 people.
- The injured will be given free treatment at any government hospital.
[edit] Investigation
Initial reports
- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said some clues had been found in connection with the three bomb blasts that rocked the capital on Saturday evening, killing 61 people and injuring at least 188 (Rediff).
- The Union home ministry is zeroing in on the Lashkar-e-Toiba for planting bombs at three places in New Delhi which killed 61 people on Saturday (Rediff).
Preliminary investigation
- The three blasts suspected to have been engineered by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Preliminary investigations indicate that high grade explosives, suspected to be RDX, were used to trigger the blasts.
[edit] World reaction
The bombings have provoked strong international condemnation from the United States, Britain, Pakistan, Canada, Australia, China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Iran, UAE, European Union, Bangladesh, Maldives, and South Africa.
European Union - "Nothing will justify terrorism, which is an aggression against universal values that we share without distinction of language, culture or religion." EU's Foreign policy chief Javier Solana said, "The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must and will be brought to justice."
South Africa - President Thabo Mbeki in a message to President A P J Abdul Kalam expressed condolences on behalf of his government and the people. "The South African government joins the international community in condemning these heinous acts of terrorism, particularly in a country that espouses the principles of democracy and freedom of its people," he said.
United States - "We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms. It is a cowardly act of violence and we hope that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice", a senior State Department official said in Washington.
United Kingdom - British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a letter of condolence to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
[edit] Reaction in Delhi
Delhi police [4] ordered all temples and restaurants in Delhi closed shortly after the explosions, and the city of Delhi has gone on red alert.
[edit] Bomb hoaxes
At least two phone calls reporting fake bombs have been received by the Delhi police, including a false report of a bomb in a school (or a fair) for people with visual disabilities. In addition, there was a phone call reporting a (purportedly fake) bomb near a bank in Khari Baoli [5] before the attacks occurred; the object referred to by the call was a suitcase, in which there were documents, batteries, and wires. In the midst of the attacks, there was another hoax call reporting a bomb going off in the Gole Market.
The Delhi police, after the explosions, sent out messages to the public asking them to report unidentified objects. This led to a wave of reports of "bombs", all of which proved to be either nonexistant or more benign objects, including a "bomb" at the Som Bazaar in eastern Delhi and another "bomb" near the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
