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29 October 2005 Delhi bombings

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The 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings occurred on October 29, 2005 in the Indian city of Delhi, killing 61 people and injuring at least 188 others [link] 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 [link], and Jains [link]). 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 militant 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.

Contents

Time line

IST is Indian Standard Time, which is equal to UTC+5.5

Suspected bombers

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.

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)]

  • 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)]

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

Contacts

Rescue and relief operations

Relatives of the dead and injured will get money and medical help from the government:

Investigation

Initial reports Preliminary investigation

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.

Reaction in Delhi

Delhi police [link] ordered all temples and restaurants in Delhi closed shortly after the explosions, and the city of Delhi has gone on red alert.

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.[link] In addition, there was a phone call reporting a (purportedly fake) bomb near a bank in Khari Baoli [link] 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.

See also

External links

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