13 September 2008 Delhi bombings

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13 September 2008 Delhi bombings
Part of Islamic terrorism
Location Delhi, India
Coordinates 28°36′N77°12′E / 28.6°N 77.2°E / 28.6; 77.2
Date13 September 2008
18:07 – 18:38 IST (UTC+05:30)
Attack type
Bombings
Weapons Ammonium nitrate-based bombs tied to integrated circuits with timers
Deaths20–30
Injured90–135
Perpetrator Indian Mujahideen
Motive Islamic extremism

The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronised bomb blasts that took place within the span of a few minutes on Saturday, 13 September 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. [1] The first bomb exploded at 18:07 IST, and four other blasts followed in succession, [1] with at least 20 people killed and over 90 injured. [2]

Contents

Background

Three bomb attacks had already occurred the same year in India. The first of these was on 13 May in Jaipur. The series of nine blasts over a span of 15 minutes claimed 63 lives, and injured 216. [3] The second series of nine bomb blasts took place on 25 July in Bangalore, and claimed 2 lives, while injuring 20. [4] The next day, on 26 July in Ahmedabad, a spurt of 21 blasts killed 56 people and injured over 200.

The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the Jaipur bombings through an email sent to Indian media [5] and declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of United States' policies, most notably the war in Afghanistan. [6] The Times of India has reported that either the banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India or the militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba could be behind the blasts in Bangalore. [7] Similar to the Jaipur case, after the Ahmedabad blasts, several TV channels reported that they received e-mails from the Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the terror attacks. [8]

Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, but allege that local Muslims are given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh. [9]

Details

A map of Delhi showing the blast locations Delhi 2008 blasts final.svg
A map of Delhi showing the blast locations

Five blasts took place within a span of 31 minutes from 18:07 to 18:38 IST [11] (12:37 to 13:08 UTC) in busy markets or commercial localities. Four bombs were defused.

The first blast took place at 18:07 at Ghaffar market (a municipal market along a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh), which is full of electronics shops, [12] in which at least 20 people were injured. They were rushed to nearby RML hospital. The explosive was kept near a car, and resulted in a cylinder blast in an auto rickshaw, which was subsequently thrown up several feet into the air. [13]

Immediately after, two explosions took place in Connaught Place in which at least 10 people were injured. Police and witnesses said that the bombs went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. The first of these blasts occurred on Barakhamba Road, near Nirmal Tower and Gopal Das Bhavan at 18:34. A minute later, the second bomb exploded in the newly constructed Central Park in the centre of the Connaught Place roundabout, built above one of the main stations of the Delhi Metro. An eyewitness reportedly saw two men place the bomb in a dustbin at Central Park. [14]

Subsequently, two explosions rocked M-Block market in Greater Kailash-I at 18:37 and 18:38 – the first near the popular Prince Paan Corner, and the other near a Levi's store. The latter damaged 10 shops. [1]

Preliminary examination of the blast site said that low intensity ammonium nitrate tied to integrated circuits with timer devices had been used in almost all the serial blasts. [1]

Four bombs were also defused – the first one at India Gate, the second outside Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, the third in Connaught Place, and the fourth on Parliament Street. [15]

On the evening of 13 September 2008, IBN reported at least 30 deaths and over 100 injured. [2] AFP reported that "Indian police (New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat) said Sunday that 20 people were killed and close to 100 injured." [16]

Response

Police and security

Security was tightened across the national capital, with police personnel fanning out to railway and Metro stations, hospitals, bus terminals, the airport and other sensitive points like cinema halls, shopping malls and religious places. Barricades were put up on most city roads to check traffic. Several major markets, including the Sarojini Nagar market, which was targeted in the previous Diwali-eve blasts in 2005, were shut down and evacuated. Cyber-café owners were asked to keep a tab on customers.[ citation needed ]

A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) spokesperson state that "security has already been strengthened and frisking and checking of the commuters have been stepped up. The Metro is under constant vigil". He added that extra personnel had been pressed into service to keep an eye on commuters. [1]

Press confusion

The confusion in the aftermath of the blasts was evident in the press reports immediately following. The general consensus was that the blasts had claimed 18 lives. [9] [14] [15] However, there was some disparity, with CNN claiming as low as 15, [6] to NDTV claiming as high as 30. [17]

Even after some time had passed, the numbers of people killed and injured reported by various sources varied. At the lower end, The New York Times in 2011 reported the death toll as "more than 20 people", [18] and The Hindu noted that number of deaths as "at least 25". [19] Meanwhile, a 2010 report by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies indicates 26 dead and 100 injured, [20] and a 2009 article by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses claims 30 dead and nearly 90 injured. [21] In 2018, NDTV was still reporting 30 dead and 100 injured, [22] but The Times of India was putting the number of injuries at 135. [23]

There was also some controversy over blast sites and the sites where bombs were defused, most notably Zee News reporting a bomb being defused at Central Park, [15] while the Outlook Magazine stated that the park itself was a bomb site. [14]

Responsibility

The Islamist "Indian Mujahideen" sent an e-mail to all major TV channels, informing them of the blasts just after the first one occurred. [24] In the case of the bomb blasts in Jaipur, and Ahmedabad, e-mails were sent before the blasts.

Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. Within 5 minutes from now... This time with the Message of Death, dreadfully terrorising you for your sins. And thus our promise will be fulfilled. Inshallah...Do whatever you want and stop us if you can. [14]

The email was sent from Arbi Hindi. The email threatened nine blasts. [1] [24] A 13-page attached document depicts photographs of the previous blasts under the caption "our jihad". The Delhi blasts are, according to the email, a direct reaction to the raids carried on and after the Ahmedabad blasts, and "harassments imposed by your (Indian) ATS and the police on the innocent Muslims". The document also mentions Amarnath dispute, violence against Christians in Orissa, Babri Masjid demolition and Gujarat riots. [24]

The email was traced to Chembur, an eastern suburb of Mumbai. Mumbai's anti-Terrorism squad (ATS) confirmed that WiFi of the owner firm "Kamran Power" was hacked and used for sending the mail. [25]

Reports claim that the Indian Mujahideen called this operation "Operation B-A-D", encompassing the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi Bombings. [14] Intelligence officials had intercepted a call made "from the across the border" claiming "Operation BAD is successful", after the Ahmedabad blasts, which the Gujarat police that interpreted as Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, though the dates and specific places were not known. [26]

Investigation

Two persons were detained from Connaught Place area soon after the blasts. Delhi Police said an 11-year-old boy had claimed to have seen the perpetrators; he informed police that the suspects, clad in black kurta-pyjamas, were seen placing bags in a dustbin. [1] The Delhi Police soon, within three hours of the blast, arrested another person who the police suspect to be the mastermind of the blast.[ citation needed ]

Preliminary investigation by police reveal Indian Mujahideen-SIMI cell led by Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqir, having information technology background from Mumbai, to be involved. Another person named Qayamuddin is also under investigation. Four more people have also been detained and questioned. [27] [28]

In the morning of 19 September, the Batla House encounter took place, in which Delhi Police shot down two persons, thought to be suspects, hiding in L-18 block of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. Two others suspects were arrested while one managed to escape. Bashir alias Atif, believed to be the mastermind was one of the two killed. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was injured in the encounter, died in a hospital. He was credited with helping to have killed 35 terror suspects, 85 arrests and also the winner of 75-odd encounters, 150 medals and seven gallantry awards. [29] [30] Later, the intelligence team said that the arrested allegedly had links with Dubai and further questioned if they had any link with Dawood Ibrahim. [31]

On 23 September, the police arrested five more people from Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh. [32] All five are suspected to be part of the Indian Mujahadeen's think tank. The men were:

On 4 October they were sent by the judicial Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to 12 days' policy custody. [33]

The crime branch has claimed that these are the operatives who had introduced themselves as Pakistanis to perpetrators of 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. After the 2006 bombings, police had claimed that a group of SIMI terrorists along with five Pakistan nationals had planted bombs in seven trains. [32]

On 11 November, the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested Qayamuddin Kapadia, a top-ranking member of SIMI and a key conspirator and executor of the Ahmedabad attack. Police claimed that Kapadia admitted his involvement in the Ahmedabad blasts, and that he, along with Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer of Mumbai and Riaz Bhatkal of Karnataka, collaborated with the SIMI cell led by Atif to carry out the Delhi blasts. Atif was later killed in an encounter with Delhi Police. [34]

In January 2018, Delhi police arrested Qureshi after a gun battle. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Students' Islamic Movement of India is a banned terrorist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic land, or Dār al-'Islām. The SIMI, an organisation of extremists has declared Jihad against India, the aim of which is to establish Dār al-'Islām by converting everyone to Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Delhi bombings</span> 2005 Islamist terror attack in Delhi, India

The 2005 Delhi bombings occurred on 29 October 2005 in Delhi, India, killing 62 people and injuring at least 210 others in three explosions. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of Diwali, which is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. The bombs were triggered in two markets in central and south Delhi and in a bus south of the city. The Pakistani Islamist terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attacks under the pseudonym of Islamic Inquilab Mahaz. The Indian Mujahideen is also suspected of involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Mumbai train bombings</span> 2006 terrorist attack on the Mumbai Suburban Railway by Lashkar-e-Taiba

The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying on the Western Line Suburban Section of the Mumbai Division of Western Railway. The blasts killed 209 people and injured over 700 more.

The 2006 Malegaon bombings took place on 8 September 2006 in Malegaon, a town in the Nashik district of Indian state of Maharashtra, some 290 km northeast of Mumbai. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially blamed the bombings on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), but in a chargesheet filed in 2013 the NIA and ATS joint investigation and involved evidences pointed towards the involvement of eight members of extremist group Abhinav Bharat, who were later released from charges due to lack of evidence.

The Jaipur bombings were a series of nine synchronized bomb blasts that took place on 13 May 2008 within a span of 15 minutes at locations in Jaipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan and a tourist destination. Official reports confirm 63 dead with 216 or more people injured. The bombings shocked most of India and resulted in widespread condemnation from leaders across the world with many countries showing solidarity with India in its fight against terrorism.

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

The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat state and a large part of western India. The blasts were considered to be of low intensity and were similar to the Bangalore blasts, Karnataka which occurred the day before. This bombings were done by Pakistani Islamic Terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.

Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamist terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, Amir Reza Khan and Sadiq Israr Sheikh, among others. It has been active since at least 2005 when it bombed the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi. It carried out several serial-bombings in Indian cities in the following years notably the 2007 Uttar Pradesh bombings, 2008 Jaipur bombings, 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, 2008 Delhi bombings, 2010 Pune bombing, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2011 Delhi bombing, 2013 Patna bombings, 2013 Hyderabad blasts and the 2013 Bodh Gaya bombings.

Abdul Qureshi is a formerly most wanted islamist bomb-maker and one of the most wanted terrorists in India and has been called India's Osama Bin Laden. He is suspected to be associated with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and is thought to have been responsible for participating in the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi bombings. He is also a suspect in the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. He is more commonly known as Tauqeer and is believed to be the signer in the Indian Mujahideen terror email as al-Arabi. Abdul Subhan Qureshi was arrested by Delhi Police in January 2018. He was listed on the NIA Most Wanted list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">27 September 2008 Delhi bombing</span> Terrorist attack in Delhi, India

The 27 September 2008 Delhi bombing in India's second largest metropolis left three people dead and twenty-three more injured, on an infamous Saturday. The explosion occurred at 14:15, in Mehrauli's Electronic market called Sarai. Initially, there were reports of two persons, including a thirteen-year-old boy, named Santosh being killed in the attack. However, the next day the death toll rose to three. About 23 others were injured and were treated at AIIMS and Fortis Hospital. The bombing took place exactly two weeks after the five serial blasts in Delhi on 13 September 2008.

On 29 September 2008 three bombs exploded in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra of India killing 10 people and injuring 80. Two bombs went off in Malegaon, Maharashtra, which killed nine people while another blast in Modasa, Gujarat resulted in the death of one person.

The 2010 Pune bombing, also known as 13/7 and the German bakery blast, occurred on 13 February 2010 at approximately 19:15 Indian Standard Time, when a bomb exploded at a German bakery in the Indian city of Pune, Maharashtra. The blast killed 18 people, and injured at least 60 more, including an Italian woman, two Sudanese students and an Iranian student.

The 2010 Jama Masjid attack occurred on 19 September 2010 when two gunmen on a motorcycle fired at a tourist bus near Gate 3 of the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, India and injured two Taiwanese tourists. The incident provoked fears about security for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi. About three hours later a car parked approximately 150 meters from the spot caught fire, apparently due to a minor blast.

The Batla House encounter case was an armed Delhi Police operation to arrest terrorists of the terrorist outfit called 'Indian Mujahideen' (IM), hiding in a flat in the Batla House area of Jamia Nagar, Okhla, on 19 September 2008. The operation resulted in the deaths of two terrorists and one police officer, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, with the remaining terrorists arrested. On 15 March 2021, one of the arrested Ariz Khan alias Junaid, was sentenced to death for the murder of Inspector Sharma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Varanasi bombing</span> Terrorist bombing attack in Varanasi, India

The 2010 Varanasi bombing was a blast that occurred on 7 December 2010, in one of the holiest Hindu cities, Varanasi. The explosion occurred at Sheetla Ghat, adjacent to the main Dashashwamedh Ghat, where the sunset aarti, the evening prayer ritual to the holy river, Ganges had commenced, on these stone steps leading to it, where thousands of worshipers and tourists had gathered. It killed a two-year-old girl, sitting on her mother's lap, the mother was one of three critically injured, more than 38 other people were injured. In the ensuing panic after the blast, a railing broke causing a stampede leading to an increase in the number of injuries. The bomb was hidden inside a milk container on the Sheetla Ghat. The blast occurred a day after the anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, in which a mosque was demolished at Ayodhya leading to nationwide religious riots killing over 2,000 people. Subsequently, the Islamist militant group, Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility of the blast, via email to Indian media. This is also the second terrorism-related incident in the city which was rocked by the serial blasts of 2006, in which 28 people were killed, it included an explosion at the Sankatmochan Temple, some two kilometres away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Mumbai bombings</span> Coordinated terrorist attacks in India

The 2011 Mumbai bombings, also known as 13/7, were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST. The blasts occurred at the Opera House, at Zaveri Bazaar and at Dadar West localities, leaving 26 killed and 130 injured. Indian Mujahideen is believed to have carried out the attack with the personal involvement of its co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.

The 2011 Delhi bombing took place in the Indian capital Delhi on Wednesday, 7 September 2011 at 10:14 local time outside Gate No. 5 of the Delhi High Court, where a suspected briefcase bomb was planted. The blast killed 15 people and injured 79. Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack, and is believed to have carried out the attack with support from the Indian Mujahideen, it stated motive was the commuting of the death sentence for 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Pune bombings</span> Terrorist attacks

The 2012 Pune bombings was a series of four coordinated low-intensity bombing attacks that occurred on 1 August 2012 across Pune, the ninth-largest metropolis in India. As of October 2012, Indian Mujahideen, a terrorist group based in India, is suspected to be behind the attacks.

Syed Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa, known as Yasin Bhatkal, is a convicted Indian Islamist terrorist, who was the co-founder and leader of the proscribed terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen (IM). Yasin along with Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, among others, founded the terrorist organisation around 2005. The jihadist group has carried out several attacks against civilian targets in India and Yasin was notably personally involved in the 2010 Pune bombing, 2010 Bangalore stadium bombing, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2012 Pune bombings and the 2013 Hyderabad blasts.

Syed Abdul Karim, alias Tunda was accused of masterminding over 40 bombings in India supported by Pakistani terrorists. He was arrested by Indian authorities on 16 August 2013 from the India-Nepal border at Banbasa. However, the exact timings of this arrest is disputed with various versions being reported.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tripathi, Rahul (14 September 2008). "Serial blasts rock Delhi; 30 dead, 90 injured". The Times of India . India. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  2. 1 2 Sharma, Gaurav (14 September 2008). "New Delhi serial blasts death toll rises to 30; India on high alert". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "World condemns blasts, promises support in fight against terror", The Economic Times, 15 May 2008.
  4. ↑ 6 blasts rock Bangalore, two killed, 20 wounded
  5. ↑ "Indian Mujahideen sends pre-blast video footage", India Today, 14 May 2008.
  6. 1 2 "Officials: At least 14 dead in New Delhi blasts". CNN. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  7. ↑ "SIMI, LeT may be behind Bangalore blasts: IB". The Times of India . India. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  8. ↑ "16 blasts in Ahmedabad; 49 dead, 145 injured". India Today Group . Living Media. 27 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Five bombs explode in Indian capital". Reuters. 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  10. ↑ Where the terrorists struck in Delhi (Rediff, 14 September 2008)
  11. ↑ HT
  12. ↑ Five bombs explode in New Delhi, 20 killed
  13. ↑ "Serial blasts rock Delhi". Indiatimes Broadband. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Serial blasts in Delhi". Outlook India . 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008.
  15. 1 2 3 "Serial blasts in Delhi; 18 dead, 100 injured". Zee News. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008.
  16. ↑ afp.google.com/article, 20 killed, 98 injured in Delhi bomb attacks
  17. ↑ "30 killed, 90 injured in 5 blasts across Delhi". NDTV . Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  18. ↑ Yardley, Jim (8 September 2011). "Deadly Explosion Strikes Courthouse in New Delhi". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Chronology of blasts in Delhi". The Hindu. 7 September 2011. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  20. ↑ Singh, Rohit. Understanding the Indian Mujahideen (PDF). Centre for Land Warfare Studies. p. 6. ISBN   978-93-80502-22-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  21. ↑ Goswami, Namrata (3 February 2009). "Who is the Indian Mujahideen?". Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  22. ↑ Sanyal, Anindita (14 February 2018). "43 Bombs, 165 Dead: What Cops Say on Arrested Indian Mujahideen Terrorist". NDTV. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "2008 Serial Blasts". The Times of India. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018– via PressReader.
  24. 1 2 3 "There will be more bomb attacks, warns Indian Mujahideen". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  25. ↑ "WiFi was hacked again to send terror mail: Mumbai ATS". The Economic Times . 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  26. ↑ "Indian Mujahideen accomplishes Operation B-A-D". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  27. ↑ "Mumbai techie chief suspect: Agencies". The Times of India. India. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  28. ↑ "Cops look for faces of terror – Two detained". Ibnlive.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  29. ↑ "Saif, Zeeshan sent to 14-day police custody". NDTV. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  30. ↑ "Braveheart Inspector's death a huge loss". NDTV. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  31. ↑ "Cops probe Dawood link to Delhi blast suspects". Express India. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  32. 1 2 "Police claim to have arrested 5 key members of IM". Hindustan Times. India. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008.
  33. ↑ "Delhi blasts: 5 suspects sent to 12 days' police custody". The Times of India. India. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  34. ↑ "Ahmedabad blasts plotter held in MP". The Times of India . India. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  35. ↑ Singh, Karn Pratap (22 January 2018). "Suspected terrorist involved in Delhi, Gujarat blasts arrested after exchange of fire with Delhi Police". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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