2008 Bangalore serial blasts

2008 Bangalore serial blasts
Location Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Date 25 July 2008
Attack type
 Bombings
Deaths 2
Non-fatal injuries
 20

2008 Bangalore serial blasts occurred on 25 July 2008 in Bangalore, India. A series of nine bombs exploded in which two people were killed and 20 injured.[1][2][3][4] According to the Bangalore City Police, the blasts were caused by low-intensity crude bombs triggered by timers.[3]

India already suffered from a similar series of blasts in Jaipur, in May 2008.

The Times of India has reported that either the banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India or the militant organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba could be behind these blasts.[5] The Intelligence Bureau is not ruling out the involvement of these organisations, however the police maintain that it is too early to attribute blame to anyone.[4]

The bombings were followed by the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings one day later.

The bombings

It was initially reported that three blasts took place at around 1:30 pm IST.[6][7] Later reports indicated that four low-intensity blasts occurred: One at Nayandahalli (1:30 PM IST), two in Madiwala (at 1:50 pm IST), and the last in Adugodi (2:10 pm). Other blasts were reported from areas including the Mallya hospital, Langford Road and Richmond Circle.[4] The Madiwala blast took place at a check post, behind The Forum, a popular shopping mall in Bangalore.

It has been reported that gelatin sticks were used in the bombs. Police indicated that all bombs had timer devices attached to them and that mobile phones were used to trigger the bombs.[8] The blasts were low-intensity but occurred in crowded areas.[9]

There was another bomb found on 26 July 2008 in Bangalore near Forum Mall, Koramangala which was defused successfully by the Bomb Detection Squad.[11]

Casualties

Two people were killed and 20 injured in the attacks.[3]

One of the confirmed dead was a woman waiting at a bus shelter in Madiwala on the Hosur road; her husband and another person were seriously injured. The injured were admitted to the St. Johns Hospital.[4]

In response to the attack Prime Minister Singh sanctioned an ex gratia payment of Rs one lakh to the relatives of those dead and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the blasts.[12]

Reactions

President Pratibha Patil, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Leader of the opposition L. K. Advani, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Chief Minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yeddyurappa all condemned the violence and appealed for calm and communal harmony.[13][14][15]

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary J. Jayalalithaa called for the revival of special act like POTA to effectively counter terrorists and extremist outfits.[16] The All India Muslim Forum also "strongly condemned" the attack.[17]

Impacts

Calls by concerned and panicked citizens resulted in the telephone networks being jammed.[7][18] Malls, schools and cinema halls across the city were shut down, and the police cordoned off the blast sites.[9]

The effect of the blast on the Sensex was immediately visible with losses exceeding 3.5% reported on Friday after the Bangalore blasts. The 30-share BSE index was down 3.7%, or 529.28 points at 14,228.81, with 23 components in the red. The 50-issue NSE index was down 2.9 percent at 4,305.30.[19]

The government has issued a statement that IT companies in Bangalore were not the target of the blast. This was reaffirmed when major IT companies based in the city -like Wipro and Infosys- reported that the blasts had no impact on their operations and that all employees were safe. Employees were, however, urged to leave for home early.[20] A new security plan for IT and other industries was announced by Minister for Home Affairs Shivraj Patil immediately after the Bangalore serial blasts. Under the new amendment of law Central Industrial Security Force personnel could be used to safeguard private sector industries which till now was limited to public sector undertakings (PSUs).[21]

Investigation

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Bangalore Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, termed the blasts "an act of miscreants" trying to disturb peace in the city. The Union Home Ministry of India named the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba and Students Islamic Movement of India, as the suspects.[4]

The Bangalore Police said that attack "bore some hallmarks" of the Bangladesh-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI).[22]

The Central Government of India had warned the Karnataka state government one day earlier that state was high on the terror hitlist along with six other Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Assam – and Union Territory Delhi.[21]

There is a possible connection with the Andhra and Varanasi attacks. An official was quoted as saying "The aim of these groups, whether HuJI or LeT or Simi, is clear. Bangalore and Hyderabad are being chosen as targets to create panic in the US as the cities house [the] biggest IT companies from the US." The Andhra – Karnataka link involves Raziuddin Nasir, a Hyderabad resident, and his aide Hafiz Khan Adnan from Bangalore, were arrested near Hubli in Karnataka this year. Furthermore, another clear link between the terror elements in both blasts is the explosive material used. In the Bangalore blasts an explosive with an ammonium nitrate base was used, while in the Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park explosions in Hyderabad a similar ammonium nitrate base was used. These were also of low intensity with the aim of creating panic. Like the Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts, it took place on a Friday during or just after the prayers.[23] In response to these blasts security was also beefed up in Andhra Pradesh.[24]

It was also reported that sleeper cells have gained a firm foothold in Karnataka with the discovery of terror camps in the Karnataka forest early in the year. In this vein, near-simultaneous blasts – all having the footprint of the jehadi network that had carried out blasts in Varanasi, Jaipur, Mumbai and elsewhere – point to the strong foothold terrorists have made in the city.[25]

On 29 July, the Bangalore police Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a SIMI activist named Sameer Sadiq in connection with the blasts. According to the police, Sadiq had played a key role in the Surat riots. He was staying at Gurapanapalya in Bangalore, the area which incidentally housed the SIMI office before it had been banned.[26]

On 30 July 2008, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) indicated that two men – Rasool Khan Parti and Mohammad Sufiya Ahmed Patangiya – currently living at Farahan Arcade Gulistan in Karachi were the masterminds behind the Ahmedabad and the Bangalore serial blasts. They used to reside in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Both are possibly members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. The Gujarat Police has been looking for them in connection to the murder of former Gujarat state minister Haren Pandya.[27]

On December 2009, two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists including Lashkar's South India commander Thadiyantevide Nasir were arrested by the Indian Forces from the Bangladesh border. Interrogation of them lead to significant evidences to the serial blasts in several Indian cities in 2008 especially the Bangalore blasts. Nasir's arrest paved way for the arrest of several Muslim youth from Kerala involved in terrorism,[28] as well as evidences for terror links of Kerala politician Abdul Nasser Madani.[29] However, K.P. Sasi's documentary on Madani, titled Framed[30] presents another story. Madani's wife Soofiya Madani was arrested by Kerala Police on 19 December 2009 on the ground that she had taken an active role in Kalamassery Tamil Nadu state transportation corporation bus burning case. She has also confessed to Kerala Police, her involvement in organising the bus burning and planting bomb near coimbatore press club in retaliation to poor treatment of her husband in coimbatore jail. The main accused in the case, T Nasir, an Islamik sevak sangh activist (wing of PDP) turned Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist is said to had actively coordinated and obtained endorsement from Soofiya Madani. T Nazir is involved in the cases ranging from the attempted murder of former kerala chief minister [E K Nayanar] to the recent Bangalore bomb blast for which he is under custody of Karnataka police. Bangalore police has already obtained ample proof that T Nazir and his associates like Abdul Sattar has good link with Madani family. These sequence of events has brought serious question to Kerala's position holding the image of a good secular fabric in its society.[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Terror strikes Bangalore; two killed, 20 injured in nine blasts India Today Group Online
  2. ↑ "Nine blasts rock Bangalore | Chaos and curiousity [sic]". IBN Live. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 6 blasts rock Bangalore, two killed, 20 wounded
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 7 blasts rock Bengaluru, 2 killed, several injured
  5. ↑ "SIMI, LeT may be behind Bangalore blasts: IB". Times of India. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  6. ↑ IBNLive.com. 25 July 2008. 2:55 pm IST.
  7. 1 2 IBN Live
  8. ↑ Nanjappa, Vicky (25 July 2008). "7 blasts rock Bengaluru, 2 killed, twenty wounded". Rediff. Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  9. 1 2 "'Serial bombs' hit India's IT hub". BBC. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Bangalore blasts: When and where". Times of India. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  11. ↑ Another bomb found in Bangalore, defused-India-The Times of India
  12. ↑ "Manmohan Singh condemns Bangalore blasts". Daily News and Analysis. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "PM, Karnataka CM condemn blasts; call for calm". CNN IBN. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  14. ↑ The Hindu News Update Service
  15. ↑ "Serial blasts rattle Bangalore; woman killed". The Hindu. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  16. ↑ The Hindu News Update Service Archived 28 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ South Asia Contact Group Achieve: Re: [SouthAsiaContact] Condemnation of Banglore and Ahmedabad Blasts – Dr.M.K.Sherwani
  18. ↑ Five blasts hit Bangalore. NDTV. 25 July 2008.
  19. ↑ Indian shares extend fall on Bangalore blasts news
  20. ↑ "Blasts have no impact on operations: Infosys, Wipro". Times of India. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  21. 1 2 Mohan, Vishwa (25 July 2008). "Centre warned Karnataka just a day before attack". Times of India. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  22. ↑ Seven small blasts hit Indian IT city of Bangalore. Reuters.
  23. ↑ "Clear link with terror elements of Andhra". The Times of India. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  24. ↑ http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14724295
  25. ↑ Sleeper cells gain foothold in Bangalore-India-The Times of India
  26. ↑ "Bangalore arrest turns focus back on SIMI". Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  27. ↑ "IB identifies Pak-based masterminds". Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  28. ↑ Three more arrested in Bangalore blasts case
  29. ↑ Nasir confesses to links with Madani
  30. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0eVXOZnpKg
  31. ↑

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