11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
Encyclopedia
The 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb
blasts that 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 the Western line
of the Suburban Railway network. 209 people were killed and over 700 were injured. According to Mumbai Police
, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Students Islamic Movement of India
(SIMI).
Pressure cookers with a 2.5 kg mixture of RDX
and ammonium nitrate in each, were placed on trains on the western line of the suburban ("local") train network, which forms the backbone of the city's transport network. Pressure cookers were used in this bombing and other recent explosions to increase the afterburn in a thermobaric reaction, more powerful than conventional high explosives. The first blast reportedly took place at 18:24 IST
(12:54 UTC), and the explosions continued for approximately eleven minutes, until 18:35, during the after-work rush hour. All the bombs had been placed in the first-class "general" compartments (some compartments are reserved for women, called "ladies" compartments) of several trains running from Churchgate
, the city-centre end of the western railway line, to the western suburbs of the city. They exploded at or in the near vicinity of the suburban railway stations of Matunga Road
, Mahim
, Bandra, Khar Road
, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar
and Borivali
. Home Minister
Shivraj Patil
told reporters that authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known".
The bomb attacks in Mumbai came hours after a series of grenade attacks in Srinagar
, the largest city in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
. Home Secretary V K Duggal
said there was no link between the Srinagar and Mumbai bomb blasts.
Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil
confirmed that a total of 200 people were killed and another 714 others have been injured. Additionally, various news organisations have reported that at least 200 people have died and that more than 700 others have been injured. A week after the blasts in Mumbai
the confirmed death toll rose to 207. In September 2006 it was confirmed that the death toll had risen to 209.
network was at first shut down, although some trains resumed service later, and stringent security arrangements, including frisking and searching of commuters, were instituted on the other lines of the network. The city's bus service, the BEST
, pressed extra buses into service to transport stranded commuters home.
The Prime Minister also held a security meeting at his residence attended by Home Minister
Shivraj Patil
, National Security Advisor
M K Narayanan, and Home Secretary V K Duggal
.
However a study commissioned by former MP Kirit Somaiya noted that that only 174 of the 1,077 victims had received compensation through the Railway Claims Tribunal. For the handicapped victims, only 15 out of 235 eligible cases had been taken care of. Regarding the Prime Minister
's promise to India concerning the rehabilitation of the victims, L. K. Advani noted:
networks being jammed, news channels such as NDTV
ran tickertapes with information of injured individuals as well as SMS
messages from those who wish to contact their families. Reports indicated that at around 18:00 UTC
on 11 July (midnight in Mumbai), the phone networks were restoring service; telephone service was completely restored during the night.
Mumbai Help, a blog run by around thirty bloggers, was a useful source of information, especially for those outside India.
regions, possibly referring to the alleged oppression of Muslim minorities in certain parts of the region. It also says that the blasts were part of a series of attacks aimed at other sites such as the Mumbai international airport, Gateway of India
, the Taj Mahal
in Agra
and the Red Fort in New Delhi. The authorities are investigating this claim and are trying to track the location of the e-mail sender. However, on 17 July, the forensic science laboratory Mumbai has confirmed the use of a mixture of the highly explosive RDX
and Ammonium Nitrate for the bombings. The presence of these explosives in the post explosive debris was confirmed by modern techniques such as Liquid Chromatography
with mass detector (LCMS), Gas Chromatography with mass detector (GCMS) and Ion Scan Chromatography. They have indicated a strong possibility of all explosives being planted at the Churchgate
railway station, which was the starting point for all affected trains.
Initially, religious extremists from the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India terrorist groups, and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI
were the prime suspects. Both Lashkar and SIMI denied responsibility for the bombings. There was also evidence about the involvement of the international Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda
following a phone call from a man claiming to be a spokesperson for the group on 13 July. The alleged al-Qaeda spokesman had said the blasts were a "consequence of Indian oppression and suppression of minorities, particularly Muslims."
On 30 September 2006 CNN
reported that "The Indian government accused Pakistan's military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence
, of planning the 11 July Mumbai train bombings that killed 209 people".
and the third later in Mumbai. All three are said to belong to the banned SIMI organisation. On the same day, Abdul Karim Tunda was arrested in Mombasa
, Kenya
on suspicions of involvement in the train bombings. He is one of India's most wanted men and also a suspected organizer for the banned Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Forced confession
In late 2006, all the seven key accused in the Mumbai train blasts in July retracted their alleged confession to the police, saying they were illegally forced to sign blank papers, an Indian TV channel reported.
The imam of India’s largest mosque — the Jama Masjid in New Delhi — Syed Ahmed Bukhari said, “Of course this is a deliberate targeting of Muslims”. Another Muslim leader Anees Durrani echoed Imam Bukhari’s views. He said, “very biased against Muslims”. He further added, “You can see that very plainly by the way the investigations are proceeding. Leaders of Indian Muslims have condemned the Mumbai blasts and others before 11 July. No one knows who carried out the blasts but the needle of suspicion is always pointed towards us”.
"I would hesitate to say we have clinching evidence but we have pretty good evidence," he was quoted as saying on CNN-IBN.
Following Narayanan's remarks, the Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal on Monday characterised the evidence as "very good [...] it is fairly solid evidence,".
On 25 September 2008, Hindustan Times reported that "the Crime branch also learnt that the men [behind 2008 Delhi bombings] are those very operatives who had introduced themselves as Pakistanis to perpetrators of 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
. Since the suspects linked with 2008 Delhi bombings are all Indian, this leaves earlier claims of ISI involvement as premature and incorrect.
confessed to his alleged role in the bombings in a news channel broadcast
. He claimed to have engineered the pressure cooker bombs with his associates in a flat in central Mumbai. If verified, these allegations could invalidate the previous claims by the ATS that the ISI or the SIMI were involved. Sadiq states in his confession, ‘‘All five of us arranged local first class train passes beforehand. We also had the local train time table with us so that we could choose a train as per our convenience. We purchased bags and pressure cookers in Bombay.’’ He also claimed to have misled investigators by blaming the attacks on the Al-Qaeda
.
, non-passengers would no longer be allowed on the railway platforms after July 2006. Other major security steps include installation of close circuit televisions inside the stations for round-the-clock vigil and installation of metal detectors.
Dr. Manmohan Singh was quick to call for calm in Mumbai, while President
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
, Railways Minister
Lalu Prasad Yadav
, and president of the Indian National Congress
Sonia Gandhi
also issued statements regarding the bombings in Mumbai. Officials from other nations offered their condolences to those affected by the bombings. Officials, from Pakistan
which has long feuded with India, and the United Kingdom, which was the target of similar attacks
the previous July, were among those who denounced the attacks in Mumbai as well as terrorism as a whole. Several terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba
and al-Qaeda
, made comments — both in condemnation and condonation — about the attacks as well.
Abdul Kalam
, his hand raised to his forehead in salute, led the two-minute silence as people lit candles and placed wreaths at Mahim station, one of the seven places on the suburban rail network hit by bombs. Sirens sounded across Mumbai marking the memorial service. People gathered at the site of the blasts, in railway stations on the city's Western Line and millions of people stopped talking, traffic came to a halt and cinemas interrupted films as a city that never stops observed a silence for bombing victims.
abides by his 2004 promise of ending all support to cross-border terrorism. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
has conveyed India's willingness to be flexible with Pakistan
following Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
's statements that ending the three-year long peace process would signal a victory for the separatist terrorists.
On 16 September at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
in Havana
Cuba
, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf made a joint statement announcing that the two countries would resume formal peace negotiations and set up a joint agency to tackle terrorism.
, deals with the aftermath of the Mumbai train bombings, while the incidents that followed the bombings, were used as details in the plot of film, A Wednesday!
(2008) starring Naseeruddin Shah
, which was also inspired by the train bombings.
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, the capital of the Indian state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying the Western line
Western Railway (India)
The Western Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, and is among the busiest railway networks in India. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railways are: Ratlam - Mumbai Central, Surat - Mumbai, Surat - Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad - Vadodara and Palanpur -...
of the Suburban Railway network. 209 people were killed and over 700 were injured. According to Mumbai Police
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police is the police force of the city of Mumbai, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The department's motto is ""...
, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and Students Islamic Movement of India
Students Islamic Movement of India
The Students Islamic Movement of India is an Islamic student organization that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ from Western materialistic cultural influence and to convert its Muslim society to live according to Muslim...
(SIMI).
Details
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
and ammonium nitrate in each, were placed on trains on the western line of the suburban ("local") train network, which forms the backbone of the city's transport network. Pressure cookers were used in this bombing and other recent explosions to increase the afterburn in a thermobaric reaction, more powerful than conventional high explosives. The first blast reportedly took place at 18:24 IST
Indian Standard Time
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, although DST was used briefly during the Sino–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971...
(12:54 UTC), and the explosions continued for approximately eleven minutes, until 18:35, during the after-work rush hour. All the bombs had been placed in the first-class "general" compartments (some compartments are reserved for women, called "ladies" compartments) of several trains running from Churchgate
Churchgate
Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of...
, the city-centre end of the western railway line, to the western suburbs of the city. They exploded at or in the near vicinity of the suburban railway stations of Matunga Road
Matunga Road
Matunga Road is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It offers access to Matunga and Shivaji Park areas of Mumbai. The corresponding station on the Central line is called Matunga. It is the smallest railway halt in Mumbai in terms of number of passengers and number...
, Mahim
Mahim
Mahim is a neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station in Mahim area, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. In ancient times, the area was known as Maijim, Mejambu, Mahikawati....
, Bandra, Khar Road
Khar Road
Khar Road is a railway station on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network, in the Khar suburb. It is close to the Bandra Terminus for upcountry trains....
, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar
Bhayandar (railway station)
Bhayandar is one of the suburbs in Mumbai, India. It is located at north Mumbai, to the western line of Mumbai Suburban Railway, and is governed by the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation ....
and Borivali
Borivali
Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station...
. Home Minister
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
The Home Minister, or more properly the Minister for Home Affairs, is a position in the Indian Cabinet, at both State and Union levels. The Home Ministry is one of the most important, powerful and high profile ministry after the Prime Minister...
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...
told reporters that authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known".
The bomb attacks in Mumbai came hours after a series of grenade attacks in Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
, the largest city in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. Home Secretary V K Duggal
V K Duggal
V K Duggal, formally India's Water Resources Secretary, was Indian Union Home Secretary from March 2005 until April 1, 2007 when Madhukar Gupta took over the post. Mr.Duggal was born on 26 November 1944. He belongs to U.T...
said there was no link between the Srinagar and Mumbai bomb blasts.
Injuries and fatalities
| Train | Blast location | Carriage type | Time (IST Indian Standard Time Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, although DST was used briefly during the Sino–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971... ) |
Deaths | Injured | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelling north from Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... |
Khar Road Khar Road Khar Road is a railway station on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network, in the Khar suburb. It is close to the Bandra Terminus for upcountry trains.... - Santacruz Santacruz (railway station) Santa Cruz is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway and Central Railway railway lines. The neighborhood is Santa Cruz.... |
First Class | 18:24 | |||
| 17:50 Fast Local Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... -Borivali Borivali Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station... |
Bandra - Khar Road Khar Road Khar Road is a railway station on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network, in the Khar suburb. It is close to the Bandra Terminus for upcountry trains.... |
First Class | 18:24 | |||
| 17:37 Slow Local Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... -Borivali Borivali Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station... |
Jogeshwari (PF #1) | First Class | 18:25 | |||
| 17:54 Fast Local Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... -Borivali Borivali Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station... |
Mahim Junction Mahim Mahim is a neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station in Mahim area, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. In ancient times, the area was known as Maijim, Mejambu, Mahikawati.... (PF #3) |
First Class | 18:26 | |||
| Travelling north from Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... |
Mira Road Mira Road Mira Road is one of the suburbs in the city of Mumbai, India. It is located to the north of Mumbai, on the western line of Mumbai Suburban Railway and is governed by the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation .-Geography:... - Bhayandar |
First Class | 18:29 | |||
| 17:57 Fast Local Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... -Virar Virar Virar is a name of a suburb of Northern Mumbai. Virar is a city and a part of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.... |
Matunga Road Matunga Road Matunga Road is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It offers access to Matunga and Shivaji Park areas of Mumbai. The corresponding station on the Central line is called Matunga. It is the smallest railway halt in Mumbai in terms of number of passengers and number... - Mahim Junction Mahim Mahim is a neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station in Mahim area, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. In ancient times, the area was known as Maijim, Mejambu, Mahikawati.... |
First Class | 18:30 | |||
| 17:37 Fast Local Churchgate Churchgate Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of... -Virar Virar Virar is a name of a suburb of Northern Mumbai. Virar is a city and a part of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.... |
Borivali Borivali Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station... 1 |
First Class | 18:35 | |||
| Total | 11 minutes | 210 | 714 | |||
| font style="font-size:90%">1 One bomb exploded at this location, but another one was found by police and defused. |
Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil
R. R. Patil
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R. R. Patil , is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party. He became Home Minister of Maharashtra for the second time after the 2009 Maharashtra assembly election victory of the Congress-NCP alliance...
confirmed that a total of 200 people were killed and another 714 others have been injured. Additionally, various news organisations have reported that at least 200 people have died and that more than 700 others have been injured. A week after the blasts in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
the confirmed death toll rose to 207. In September 2006 it was confirmed that the death toll had risen to 209.
Response
A state of high alert was declared in India's major cities. Both the airports in Mumbai were placed on high alert. The western line of the Mumbai Suburban RailwayMumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
network was at first shut down, although some trains resumed service later, and stringent security arrangements, including frisking and searching of commuters, were instituted on the other lines of the network. The city's bus service, the BEST
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport
The BEST ) is Mumbai's public transport service and electricity provider....
, pressed extra buses into service to transport stranded commuters home.
The Prime Minister also held a security meeting at his residence attended by Home Minister
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
The Home Minister, or more properly the Minister for Home Affairs, is a position in the Indian Cabinet, at both State and Union levels. The Home Ministry is one of the most important, powerful and high profile ministry after the Prime Minister...
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...
, National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (India)
The National Security Advisor of India is a member of the National Security Council , and the primary advisor to the Prime Minister, the Indian Cabinet and the NSC on internal and international security issues.-Overview:...
M K Narayanan, and Home Secretary V K Duggal
V K Duggal
V K Duggal, formally India's Water Resources Secretary, was Indian Union Home Secretary from March 2005 until April 1, 2007 when Madhukar Gupta took over the post. Mr.Duggal was born on 26 November 1944. He belongs to U.T...
.
Resumption of services and return to normality
Western Railway services were restored on 11 July by 10.45 pm. As a show of investor confidence, the Mumbai Stock Exchange rebounded, starting the day with the BSE Sensex Index up by nearly 1% in morning trade. Foreign investors also retained confidence, with the Sensex up almost 3% at 10,930.09 at the end of the day's trade.Rescue and relief operations
- Initial rescue efforts were hampered by the heavy rains and the prevalent monsoonMonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
flooding, but quickly took momentum after fellow passengers and bystanders helped victims to reach waiting ambulances and/or provided first aid.
- MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Chief Minister Vilasrao DeshmukhVilasrao DeshmukhVilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
announced ex-gratiaEx gratiaEx gratia is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace...
payments of RsIndian rupeeThe Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
1,00,000 (approx. US$2,200) to the next of kin of those who died in the explosion. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 (approx. US$1,100) each.
- Indian RailwaysIndian RailwaysIndian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
announced RsIndian rupeeThe Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
5,00,000 (approx. US$10,000) compensation and a job to the next of kin of those killed in the serial blasts in Mumbai. The announcements were made by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad YadavLalu Prasad YadavLalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
after visiting those injured in the blasts at a hospital in Mumbai.
However a study commissioned by former MP Kirit Somaiya noted that that only 174 of the 1,077 victims had received compensation through the Railway Claims Tribunal. For the handicapped victims, only 15 out of 235 eligible cases had been taken care of. Regarding the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
's promise to India concerning the rehabilitation of the victims, L. K. Advani noted:
Sources of information
Due to the mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
networks being jammed, news channels such as NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
ran tickertapes with information of injured individuals as well as SMS
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
messages from those who wish to contact their families. Reports indicated that at around 18:00 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on 11 July (midnight in Mumbai), the phone networks were restoring service; telephone service was completely restored during the night.
Mumbai Help, a blog run by around thirty bloggers, was a useful source of information, especially for those outside India.
Investigation
Some 350 people were detained 36 hours after the incident in Maharashtra — police claim that these are people rounded up for investigations. On 14 July, Lashkar-e-Qahhar, a terrorist organisation possibly linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the bombings. In an e-mail to an Indian TV channel, the outfit says it organised the bombings using 16 people who are all "safe". According to the e-mail, the main motive seems to have been a retaliation to the situation in the Gujarat and KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
regions, possibly referring to the alleged oppression of Muslim minorities in certain parts of the region. It also says that the blasts were part of a series of attacks aimed at other sites such as the Mumbai international airport, Gateway of India
Gateway of India
Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.The...
, the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
in Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
and the Red Fort in New Delhi. The authorities are investigating this claim and are trying to track the location of the e-mail sender. However, on 17 July, the forensic science laboratory Mumbai has confirmed the use of a mixture of the highly explosive RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
and Ammonium Nitrate for the bombings. The presence of these explosives in the post explosive debris was confirmed by modern techniques such as Liquid Chromatography
Chromatography
Chromatography is the collective term for a set of laboratory techniques for the separation of mixtures....
with mass detector (LCMS), Gas Chromatography with mass detector (GCMS) and Ion Scan Chromatography. They have indicated a strong possibility of all explosives being planted at the Churchgate
Churchgate
Churchgate is an area in downtown South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid 19th century, Bombay was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Church Gate, named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai was one of the gates. The gate was situated near the present day location of...
railway station, which was the starting point for all affected trains.
Initially, religious extremists from the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India terrorist groups, and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
were the prime suspects. Both Lashkar and SIMI denied responsibility for the bombings. There was also evidence about the involvement of the international Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
following a phone call from a man claiming to be a spokesperson for the group on 13 July. The alleged al-Qaeda spokesman had said the blasts were a "consequence of Indian oppression and suppression of minorities, particularly Muslims."
On 30 September 2006 CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that "The Indian government accused Pakistan's military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
, of planning the 11 July Mumbai train bombings that killed 209 people".
Arrests
On 21 July 2006 police arrested three people suspected to be involved in the bombings. Police have detained more than 300 suspects since 18 July but these are the first arrests in the case. Two of the men were detained on Thursday in the northern state of BiharBihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and the third later in Mumbai. All three are said to belong to the banned SIMI organisation. On the same day, Abdul Karim Tunda was arrested in Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
on suspicions of involvement in the train bombings. He is one of India's most wanted men and also a suspected organizer for the banned Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Forced confessionForced confessionA forced confession is a confession obtained by a suspect or a prisoner under means of torture, enhanced interrogation technique or duress.Depending on the level of coercion used, a forced confession may or may not be valid in revealing the truth...
s
In late 2006, all the seven key accused in the Mumbai train blasts in July retracted their alleged confession to the police, saying they were illegally forced to sign blank papers, an Indian TV channel reported.Muslim reaction to the arrests
Following the blasts, almost immediately, police arrested hundreds of Muslims for the investigation purposes. Muslims alleged they were the victims of police witch-hunts. Although the police denied singling out any group, the critics retorted that police had been mostly raiding the Muslim dominated-pockets in India.The imam of India’s largest mosque — the Jama Masjid in New Delhi — Syed Ahmed Bukhari said, “Of course this is a deliberate targeting of Muslims”. Another Muslim leader Anees Durrani echoed Imam Bukhari’s views. He said, “very biased against Muslims”. He further added, “You can see that very plainly by the way the investigations are proceeding. Leaders of Indian Muslims have condemned the Mumbai blasts and others before 11 July. No one knows who carried out the blasts but the needle of suspicion is always pointed towards us”.
Continuing investigation
M K Narayanan, the Indian National Security Advisor, has said that India doesn't have "clinching" evidence of the involvement of ISI in the Mumbai train blasts of 11 July."I would hesitate to say we have clinching evidence but we have pretty good evidence," he was quoted as saying on CNN-IBN.
Following Narayanan's remarks, the Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal on Monday characterised the evidence as "very good [...] it is fairly solid evidence,".
On 25 September 2008, Hindustan Times reported that "the Crime branch also learnt that the men [behind 2008 Delhi bombings] are those very operatives who had introduced themselves as Pakistanis to perpetrators of 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
. Since the suspects linked with 2008 Delhi bombings are all Indian, this leaves earlier claims of ISI involvement as premature and incorrect.
Involvement of Indian Mujahideen
On 27 February 2009, Sadiq Sheikh, an arrested leader of the Indian MujahideenIndian Mujahideen
Indian Mujahideen is a terrorist group based in India, known for carrying out several attacks against civilian targets in India....
confessed to his alleged role in the bombings in a news channel broadcast
. He claimed to have engineered the pressure cooker bombs with his associates in a flat in central Mumbai. If verified, these allegations could invalidate the previous claims by the ATS that the ISI or the SIMI were involved. Sadiq states in his confession, ‘‘All five of us arranged local first class train passes beforehand. We also had the local train time table with us so that we could choose a train as per our convenience. We purchased bags and pressure cookers in Bombay.’’ He also claimed to have misled investigators by blaming the attacks on the Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
.
Impact
Heightened security measures
In wake of the blasts, the Indian government tightened security in railway stations. Under new restrictions passed by the Ministry of RailwaysMinistry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....
, non-passengers would no longer be allowed on the railway platforms after July 2006. Other major security steps include installation of close circuit televisions inside the stations for round-the-clock vigil and installation of metal detectors.
Statements in response
Various senior political figures from India and around the world condemned the attacks. In India, Prime MinisterPrime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Dr. Manmohan Singh was quick to call for calm in Mumbai, while President
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
, Railways Minister
Ministry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
, and president of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
also issued statements regarding the bombings in Mumbai. Officials from other nations offered their condolences to those affected by the bombings. Officials, from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
which has long feuded with India, and the United Kingdom, which was the target of similar attacks
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
the previous July, were among those who denounced the attacks in Mumbai as well as terrorism as a whole. Several terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, made comments — both in condemnation and condonation — about the attacks as well.
Memorial service
A memorial service was held in Mumbai on 18 July at 6:25 pm local time — exactly one week after the blasts. PresidentPresident of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
, his hand raised to his forehead in salute, led the two-minute silence as people lit candles and placed wreaths at Mahim station, one of the seven places on the suburban rail network hit by bombs. Sirens sounded across Mumbai marking the memorial service. People gathered at the site of the blasts, in railway stations on the city's Western Line and millions of people stopped talking, traffic came to a halt and cinemas interrupted films as a city that never stops observed a silence for bombing victims.
Setback for the India-Pakistan peace process
Following the bomb attacks, Minister of State of External Affairs E. Ahamed announced on 14 July that India would suspend the talks with Pakistan until President Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
abides by his 2004 promise of ending all support to cross-border terrorism. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
has conveyed India's willingness to be flexible with Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
following Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
's statements that ending the three-year long peace process would signal a victory for the separatist terrorists.
On 16 September at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf made a joint statement announcing that the two countries would resume formal peace negotiations and set up a joint agency to tackle terrorism.
In popular culture
Hindi film Mumbai Meri Jaan (2009), which won multiple Filmfare AwardsFilmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
, deals with the aftermath of the Mumbai train bombings, while the incidents that followed the bombings, were used as details in the plot of film, A Wednesday!
A Wednesday!
A Wednesday! is a 2008 Indian thriller drama film written and directed by Neeraj Pandey. It stars Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah in the lead roles...
(2008) starring Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
, which was also inspired by the train bombings.
See also
- Mumbai serial train blasts investigationsMumbai serial train blasts investigationsThe following is the account given by the Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorist Squad of the investigation of the July 11, 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts which killed 209 people and injured over 700. A series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in...
- The official police investigations into the blasts. - 1993 Mumbai bombings1993 Mumbai bombingsThe 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb explosions that took place in Bombay , Maharashtra, India on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history...
: another series of bombings that occurred in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... - 13 March 2003 Bomb blast in train at Mulund in Mumbai - Mulund Blasts - BBC
- List of terrorist incidents involving railway systems
- 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings11 March 2004 Madrid train bombingsThe Madrid train bombings consisted of a series of coordinated bombings against the Cercanías system of Madrid, Spain on the morning of 11 March 2004 , killing 191 people and wounding 1,800...
: similar precedent - 7 July 2005 London bombings7 July 2005 London bombingsThe 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
: a similar series of bombings involving a transport system - 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings29 October 2005 Delhi bombingsThe 29 October 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...
: a series of three blasts in crowded markets in DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, two days before the HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
festival DiwaliDiwaliDiwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons... - 7 March 2006 Varanasi bombings: a series of similar blasts
- 2006 Jama Masjid explosions2006 Jama Masjid explosionsOn April 14, 2006, two explosions occurred in the courtyard of Jama Masjid, a 17th-century mosque in Old Delhi . The first blast took place at 17:26 local time right in the middle of the courtyard next to Wazoo Khana which comprises a pond where worshippers wash their hands and feet before offering...
: two explosions outside the Jama MasjidJama Masjid, DelhiThe Masjid-i Jahān-Numā , commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal,in the year 1644 CE and completed in the year 1658 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India...
mosque in DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
in April 2006 - 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings2007 Samjhauta Express bombingsThe 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings were a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train...
- Najibullah ZaziNajibullah ZaziNajibullah Zazi is an Afghan-American who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the 2009 U.S. Al Qaeda group accused of planning suicide bombings on the New York City subway system, and has pled guilty as have two other defendants. U.S...
; 2009 attempt to bomb the New York City subway system - 2010 Moscow Metro bombings2010 Moscow Metro bombingsThe 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two womenduring the morning rush hour of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro , with roughly 40 minutes interval between...
- 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings
External links
- Flickr photo compilation by Mumbai resident and writer Jeffrey Rufus See also publication mention in the India Times.
- Editorial documentation by Mumbai resident and writer Jeffrey Rufus
- Mumbai Police Helpline
- Mumbai Help Blog - Surviving Mumbai – Information for emergencies in the Bombay area
- Catholic Casualties in Mumbai Blasts 7/11
- Coverage of event, including help links and first hand accounting on Metroblogging Mumbai
- Statement issued by PM Manmohan Singh Images of disaster at 20 minutos20 minutos20 minutos is a free Spanish newspaper, with local editions in several Spanish cities, published by "Multiprensa & Mas S.L.", a company founded in Madrid in 1999....
- Images of Mumbai after the explosions at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Mumbai's valued railway lifeline
- Militant arrested; 2.05 kg RDX, Rs 49 lakh seized
- Chronology of Mumbai blasts since December 2002
- Mumbai Blasts 2006 Resources (South Asian Journalists Association)
- WikiIndia page