2008 Bangalore serial blasts
Encyclopedia
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. According to the Bangalore City Police
, the blasts were caused by low-intensity crude bombs triggered by timers.
Bangalore is the information technology
hub of India with more than 40% of the country's IT and software industry based there. India already suffered from a similar series of blasts in Jaipur
, in May 2008.
The Times of India
has reported that either the banned organization Students Islamic Movement of India
or the militant organization Lashkar-e-Toiba
could be behind these blasts. 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.
This was followed by the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts
occurring on 26 July 2008
. 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. 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. The blasts were low-intensity but occurred in crowded areas.
There was another Bomb found on the 26th July 2008 in Bangalore near Koramangala Forum Mall which was defused successfully by the Bomb Detection Squad.
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 have been admitted to the St. Johns Hospital
.
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.
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.
The government has issued a statement that IT companies in Bangalore were not the target of the blast. Major IT companies based in Bangalore like Wipro
and Infosys
have reported no impact on their operations and all employees as safe. However, employees were urged to leave for home early. 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).
-based Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Students Islamic Movement of India
, as the suspects.
The Bangalore Police said that attack "bore some hallmarks" of the Bangladesh
-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
(HuJI).
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
.
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. In response to these blasts security was also beefed up in Andhra Pradesh
.
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.
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.
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
.
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, as well as evidences for terror links of Kerala politician Abdul Nasser Madani
. His 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 organizing 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. http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/22/bangalore-police-to-seek-soofiya-madani-custody.htm
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. A series of nine bombs exploded in which two people were killed and 20 injured. According to the Bangalore City Police
Bangalore City Police
Bangalore City Police is the premier enforcer of law and order in the city of Bangalore, India. The BCP works under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka State Police....
, the blasts were caused by low-intensity crude bombs triggered by timers.
Bangalore is the information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
hub of India with more than 40% of the country's IT and software industry based there. India already suffered from a similar series of blasts in Jaipur
13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings
The 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings were a series of nine synchronized bomb blasts that took place within a span of fifteen minutes at locations in Jaipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, and a tourist destination. A tenth bomb was found and defused. Official reports confirm 63 dead...
, in May 2008.
The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
has reported that either the banned organization 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...
or the militant organization 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...
could be behind these blasts. The Intelligence Bureau
Intelligence Bureau (India)
The Intelligence Bureau also known as IB is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency. It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs...
is not ruling out the involvement of these organisations, however the police maintain that it is too early to attribute blame to anyone.
This was followed by the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts
2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts
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. 56 people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat state, and a large part of...
occurring on 26 July 2008
The bombings
It was initially reported that three blasts took place at around 1:30 PM ISTIndian 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...
. Later reports indicated that four low-intensity blasts occurred: One at Nayandahalli (1:30 PM IST), two in Madiwala
Madiwala
Madiwala is a locality in Bangalore, India. It is a center of bustling activity from grocery markets to IT to shopping malls like Total mall. Being at the center of the IT corridor it is well known across Bangalore.Renowned missionary hospital St...
(at 1:50 PM IST), and the last in Adugodi (2:10 PM). Other blasts were reported from areas including the Mallya
Vittal Mallya
Vittal Mallya was an Indian entrepreneur best known as the former Chairman of the India-based United Breweries Group.Youngest of the three children of an army doctor Lt. Col. Dr...
hospital, Langford Road and Richmond Circle. The Madiwala blast took place at a check post, behind The Forum
The Forum (shopping mall)
The Forum is a popular shopping mall located on Hosur Road in Koramangala, Bangalore city in Karnataka, India.The Mall is popular among the youth in Bangalore and an attraction to those coming to Bangalore. The shopping mall houses of shops over four levels. The mall has everything from shoes to...
, a popular shopping mall in Bangalore.
It has been reported that gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
sticks were used in the bombs. Police indicated that all bombs had timer
Timer
A timer is a specialized type of clock. A timer can be used to control the sequence of an event or process. Whereas a stopwatch counts upwards from zero for measuring elapsed time, a timer counts down from a specified time interval, like an hourglass.Timers can be mechanical, electromechanical,...
devices attached to them and that mobile phones were used to trigger the bombs. The blasts were low-intensity but occurred in crowded areas.
- 1st blast: 1.20 pm, MadiwalaMadiwalaMadiwala is a locality in Bangalore, India. It is a center of bustling activity from grocery markets to IT to shopping malls like Total mall. Being at the center of the IT corridor it is well known across Bangalore.Renowned missionary hospital St...
bus depot - 2nd blast: 1.25 pm, Mysore road
- 3rd blast: 1.40 pm, Adugodi
- 4th blast: 2.10 pm, KoramangalaKoramangalaKoramangala is a locality in Bengaluru, India. Situated in the south-eastern part of the city, it is one of the largest, and a highly sought after residential locality with its wide tree-lined boulevards with a mix of luxury apartments, commercial structures and posh bungalows. It is largely...
- 5th blast: 2.25 pm, Vittal Mallya road
- 6th blast: 2.35 pm, Langford Town
- 7th blast: Richmond Town
There was another Bomb found on the 26th July 2008 in Bangalore near Koramangala Forum Mall which was defused successfully by the Bomb Detection Squad.
Casualties
Current reports indicate that two people have been killed and 20 injured.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 have been admitted to the St. Johns Hospital
St. John's Medical College
St. John's Medical College is one of India's premier medical institutions. It is part of the St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences run by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. It was established in 1963 and is situated in Bangalore, India....
.
In response to the attack Prime Minister Singh sanctioned an ex gratia
Ex gratia
Ex 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...
payment of Rs one lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
to the relatives of those dead and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the blasts.
India
- The Prime MinisterPrime Minister of IndiaThe 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...
Manmohan SinghManmohan SinghManmohan 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...
condemned the serial bomb blasts and urged people to remain calm and maintain communal harmony. - Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S. Yeddyurappa stated, "It's a planned conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere and to try to create confusion among people. There is no need to panic. It's a planned conspiracy. I appeal to people to maintain calm."
- Leader of the opposition L. K. Advani said, "I strongly condemn the blasts in Bangalore, it is the latest in a long series of terrorist acts in various parts of the country...I also express my condolences to the families of those killed and injured in blasts."
- President Pratibha PatilPratibha PatilPratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...
condemned the blasts and expressed deep shock at the loss of lives at the IT capital saying it was aimed at disturbing peace in the country. - Vice-President Hamid Ansari also condemned the blasts and said that such acts of terrorism were intended to disturb peace which should be thwarted through national resolves to maintain peace and harmony.
- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra KazhagamAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra KazhagamAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
(AIADMK) General SecretaryGeneral SecretaryThe office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
J. JayalalithaaJ. JayalalithaaJayalalithaa Jayaram ; born 24 February 1948) commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian party. She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her...
said: "In view of the serial blasts that have rocked the states in quick succession, I reiterate that, in order to defend and maintain the territorial integrity of the nation, a special act like POTA should be revived and allowed to remain in our statute books to effectively counter terrorists and extremist outfits...These dastardly acts of terrorists must be condemned by us in the strongest terms. I urge the central and state governments to make a thorough probe to nab the culprits. We must solemnly resolve to stand firm and united against such acts of mindless terror". - A statement from the All India Muslim ForumAll India Muslim ForumAll India Muslim Forum is a Muslim political party in India. The President is Syed Rafat and the Chairman is Dr. M. K. Sherwani who was previously its General Secretary.It is a Registered Unrecognised Party by the Election Commission of India....
said the group "strongly condemns the dastardly terrorist blasts at Banglore and Ahmedabad, claiming scores of innocent lives and injuring hundreds, and appeals to the people to maintain communal harmony in the face of these sinister moves which aim at tearing apart the country's social fabric."
International
- Prime MinisterPrime Minister of PakistanThe Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Yousuf Raza Gillani condemned the bomb attacks in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, describing them as "acts of senseless violence against innocent persons". - The Foreign MinistryMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also known as Foreign Ministry, is a Government of Pakistan's federal and executive Ministry which is responsible for international and Foreign Affairs. The ministry was created in 1947, and was one of the first ministries to be established...
released a statement saying, "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has strongly condemned the acts of terrorist violence in the Indian cities of Ahmedabad and Bangalore and expressed deep sympathies with the bereaved families and the victims of these dastardly acts of senseless violence against innocent persons."
- The US embassy released a statement ""The US condemns the vicious terror attacks in Bangalore on Friday and Ahmedabad on Saturday" and extended condolences to the families of the bereaved.
Impacts
Calls by concerned and panicked citizens resulted in the telephone networks being jammed. Malls, schools and cinema halls across the city were shut down, and the police cordoned off the blast sites.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.
The government has issued a statement that IT companies in Bangalore were not the target of the blast. Major IT companies based in Bangalore like Wipro
Wipro
Wipro Limited formally Western India Products Limited is a global IT services and consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. As of 2011, Wipro is the second largest IT services company by turnover in India and employs more than 120,000 people worldwide as of March 2011...
and Infosys
Infosys
Infosys Limited, formerly Infosys Technologies Limited is a global technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is the second largest IT exporter in India with 133,560 employees as of March 2011. It has offices in 33 countries and development centers in India, China,...
have reported no impact on their operations and all employees as safe. However, employees were urged to leave for home early. A new security plan for IT and other industries was announced by Minister for Home Affairs
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...
immediately after the Bangalore serial blasts. Under the new amendment of law Central Industrial Security Force
Central Industrial Security Force
The Central Industrial Security Force is a Central Armed Police Force in India.It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India on March 10, 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made an armed force of the Union of India by another Act of Parliament passed on June 15, 1983. Its...
personnel could be used to safeguard private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
industries which till now was limited to public sector undertakings (PSUs).
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 PakistanPakistan
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...
-based 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 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...
, as the suspects.
The Bangalore Police said that attack "bore some hallmarks" of the Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone...
(HuJI).
The Central Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
had warned the Karnataka state government
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...
one day earlier that state was high on the terror hitlist along with six other Indian states – Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, 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...
, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
– and Union Territory Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , 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...
.
There is a possible connection with the Andhra
25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings
The Hyderabad bombings refers to the incident in which two bombs exploded almost simultaneously on 25 August 2007 in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The first bomb exploded in Lumbini Amusement Park at 19:45 hrs IST. The second bomb exploded five minutes later at 19:50 in...
and Varanasi
2006 Varanasi bombings
The 2006 Varanasi bombings were a series of bombings that occurred across the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in India on Tuesday, 7 March 2006. At least 28 people are reported to have been killed and as many as 101 others were injured.-Blast at the Temple:...
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
Malegaon
Malegaon is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.Malegaon is one of the largest cities in northwest Maharashtra with an estimated population of 12 lakh to 14 lakh...
and Mecca Masjid
Mecca Masjid
Makkah Masjid is one of the oldest mosques in Hyderabad, India, And it is one of the largest Mosques in India. Makkah Masjid is a listed heritage building in the old city of Hyderabad, close to the historic landmarks of Chowmahalla Palace and Laad Bazaar...
blasts, it took place on a Friday during or just after the prayers. In response to these blasts security was also beefed up in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
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.
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
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, the area which incidentally housed the SIMI office before it had been banned.
On 30 July 2008, the Intelligence Bureau
Intelligence Bureau
Intelligence Bureau was the main internal intelligence agency of British India. It can also refer to:* Intelligence Bureau , the domestic intelligence organization of India...
(IB) indicated that two men - Rasool Khan Parti and Mohammad Sufiya Ahmed Patangiya - currently living at Farahan Arcade Gulistan in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
were the masterminds behind the Ahmedabad
2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts
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. 56 people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat state, and a large part of...
and the Bangalore serial blasts. They used to reside in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. Both are possibly members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone...
. The Gujarat Police has been looking for them in connection to the murder of former Gujarat state minister Haren Pandya
Haren Pandya
Haren Pandya was the Home Minister of the Gujarat State in India. He was murdered in 2003 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he was sitting in his car after a morning walk in the Law Garden area in ahmedabad.-Political career:...
.
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, as well as evidences for terror links of Kerala politician Abdul Nasser Madani
Abdul Nasser Madani
Abdul Nasser Madani also known as Abdul Nasser Maudani or simply Madani or Maudany is a Muslim political leader from Kerala, India; who has spent more than a decade in Indian prisons though he has not been convicted of any crime till date...
. His 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 organizing 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
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...
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
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
's position holding the image of a good secular fabric in its society. http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/22/bangalore-police-to-seek-soofiya-madani-custody.htm
See also
- List of terrorist incidents, 2008
- Allegations of state terrorism committed by Pakistan
External links
- Photo Gallery. IBNLive.
- Bangalore Blasts in pictures India TodayIndia TodayIndia Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...