25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings
Encyclopedia
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 (17°24′35"N 78°28′23.5"E) at 19:45 hrs IST
. The second bomb exploded five minutes later at 19:50 in Gokul Chat Bhandar (17°23′6"N 78°29′8"E), a popular restaurant about 5 kilometres (3 mi) away. At least 42 people were reported to have died in the two bombings. Two more bombs were defused in other parts of the city. According to initial reports, the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
militant outfit of Bangladesh
is suspected for the serial blasts.
— most fitted with timers and placed in plastic bags — across Hyderabad at bus stops, by cinemas, road junctions and pedestrian bridges and near a public water fountain.
that at least 42 people were dead and at least 54 were injured in the two attacks.
Since the blasts occurred at places popular among the general public on weekends, the victims of the blasts include people from different backgrounds and include several children and women. Among the victims were seven students from Amrutvahini College of Engineering Sangamner ( affiliated to University of Pune ) in Ahmednagar District
in Maharashtra
. A group of 45 students, who were visiting Hyderabad on a routine industrial tour, were enjoying a laser show at Lumbini Park when the auditorium was struck by the devastating explosion. The group was accompanied by four faculty members. Bodies of five of the students arrived at the Pune
airport on 26 August afternoon and were received at the airport by a large crowd.
(Huji) militant outfit from Bangladesh was possibly behind the twin blasts. It was suspected that Shahid and Bilal or Sahid Ilyas Bilal, who were the masterminds of the Mecca masjid blast
were also behind Saturday's explosion. Shahid is reported to be in Karachi
, Pakistan
, and is instrumental in recruiting people for arms training from Hyderabad. Shahid Ilyas Bilal, who is also linked to the Mecca Masjid attacks is a high-ranking Lashkar-e-Taiba
operative who has lately been working with Huji.
The government of Andhra Pradesh
blamed terrorist groups based in Bangladesh
and Pakistan
for the two blasts. After an emergency meeting of the state cabinet, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
told reporters that "the available information points to the involvement of international terrorist organisations in Bangladesh and Pakistan". India's neighbours harbor a lot of fundamentalist and militant organizations, making her prone to blame other countries for such activities.
Madhukar Gupta, Union Home Secretary, has said that security agencies and state police suspect Lashkar-e-Toiba
or Jaish-e-Mohammed
. Shivraj Patil
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
,specified terror groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh were involved in the attacks.
On 26 August, Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh
Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury described claims linking Bangladesh
with the bombings as 'baseless'.
Pakistan
has denied accusations that its country was involved in the blasts and cautioned India against finger-pointing before carrying out proper investigations into such terror attacks. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, "These are terrorist attacks and we condemn them. We are ourselves victims of terrorism and remain committed to fighting terrorism. It is always better to investigate rather than to speculate,"
As investigators searched for clues, an expert said the explosives used in yesterday's blasts and the Mecca Masjid attack were different. "In the Mecca Masjid blasts
, it was a RDX
and TNT mixture...here it is entirely different (as some) ammonium nitrate-based chemical (was used)," said T Suresh, chief scientific officer of the CLUES bomb detection squad.
On 27 August, the Hyderabad police released the news that the bombs were constructed from Neogel-90, an ammonium nitrate-based explosive used commercially in road construction. The Telegraph
reported that this caused suspicion to be 'divided' between the Huji, which is known to have used Neogel in the past, and Naxalite
organisations from the interior of Andhra Pradesh, who have been "planning retaliation for the state government’s hot-pursuit campaign"; Neogel-90 has not previously been used illegally in India, but has been seized in the past from Naxalite groups in Kerala
and Nepal
.
Andhra Pradesh police are expected to go to Lucknow to interrogate Jalaluddin Mullah, alias Babu Bhai, a key member of the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (Huji). The 40-year-old born in a village in West Bengal is now in Lucknow jail. He was arrested in June 2007 by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. He and Shahid Bilal were both working for Munir-ul-Islam alias Assadullah, a Huji commander in Dhaka
. Babu Bhai was inducted into terror by Asif Reza Khan, who was accused in the Partho Burman kidnapping case in Kolkata
, and killed by the Gujarat Police in 2001.
A group of four individuals was taken for questioning, the Pioneer notes:
, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
condemned the Hyderabad blasts and expressed shock over the loss of innocent lives.
In the light of the twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad, eminent forensic scientist P. Chandra Sekharan has urged the Government of India
to establish a “National Explosives Control Bureau (NECB)” on the lines of the Narcotics Control Bureau.
India has since 2004 lost more lives to terrorist incidents than all of North America, South America, Central America, Europe and Eurasia put together. (This does not include casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan, and does include casualties in Kashmir and against the internal Maoist insurgency).
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...
. The first bomb exploded in Lumbini Amusement Park (17°24′35"N 78°28′23.5"E) at 19:45 hrs 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...
. The second bomb exploded five minutes later at 19:50 in Gokul Chat Bhandar (17°23′6"N 78°29′8"E), a popular restaurant about 5 kilometres (3 mi) away. At least 42 people were reported to have died in the two bombings. Two more bombs were defused in other parts of the city. According to initial reports, the banned 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...
militant outfit of 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...
is suspected for the serial blasts.
Unexploded bombs
A day after the blasts, police discovered 19 unexploded bombsUnexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...
— most fitted with timers and placed in plastic bags — across Hyderabad at bus stops, by cinemas, road junctions and pedestrian bridges and near a public water fountain.
Victims
Police Commissioner of Hyderabad, Mr. Balwinder Singh, mentioned to the Press Trust of IndiaPress Trust of India
Press Trust of India is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers and has a staff of about 2,000 writers spread across 150 offices nationwide...
that at least 42 people were dead and at least 54 were injured in the two attacks.
Since the blasts occurred at places popular among the general public on weekends, the victims of the blasts include people from different backgrounds and include several children and women. Among the victims were seven students from Amrutvahini College of Engineering Sangamner ( affiliated to University of Pune ) in Ahmednagar District
Ahmednagar district
Ahmednagar district is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar was the seat of the Ahmednagar Sultanate of late medieval period . This district is also known for the towns of Shirdi associated with...
in 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...
. A group of 45 students, who were visiting Hyderabad on a routine industrial tour, were enjoying a laser show at Lumbini Park when the auditorium was struck by the devastating explosion. The group was accompanied by four faculty members. Bodies of five of the students arrived at the Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
airport on 26 August afternoon and were received at the airport by a large crowd.
Responsibility
Central security agencies said that the banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi IslamiHarkat-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) militant outfit from Bangladesh was possibly behind the twin blasts. It was suspected that Shahid and Bilal or Sahid Ilyas Bilal, who were the masterminds of the Mecca masjid blast
18 May 2007 Mecca Masjid bombing
The Makkah Masjid bombing occurred on May 18, 2007 inside the Makkah Masjid, a mosque the old city area in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh located very close to Charminar. The blast was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb...
were also behind Saturday's explosion. Shahid is reported to be 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...
, 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...
, and is instrumental in recruiting people for arms training from Hyderabad. Shahid Ilyas Bilal, who is also linked to the Mecca Masjid attacks is a high-ranking Lashkar-e-Taiba
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...
operative who has lately been working with Huji.
The government of 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...
blamed terrorist groups based in 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...
and 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...
for the two blasts. After an emergency meeting of the state cabinet, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy , popularly known as YSR, was a two-time Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He is seen as the most popular chief minister of Andhra pradesh. His popularity is often attributed to various welfare schemes and development programs he championed for the...
told reporters that "the available information points to the involvement of international terrorist organisations in Bangladesh and Pakistan". India's neighbours harbor a lot of fundamentalist and militant organizations, making her prone to blame other countries for such activities.
Madhukar Gupta, Union Home Secretary, has said that security agencies and state police suspect 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...
or Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
. 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...
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
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...
,specified terror groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh were involved in the attacks.
On 26 August, Foreign Affairs Adviser of 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...
Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury described claims linking 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...
with the bombings as 'baseless'.
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...
has denied accusations that its country was involved in the blasts and cautioned India against finger-pointing before carrying out proper investigations into such terror attacks. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, "These are terrorist attacks and we condemn them. We are ourselves victims of terrorism and remain committed to fighting terrorism. It is always better to investigate rather than to speculate,"
As investigators searched for clues, an expert said the explosives used in yesterday's blasts and the Mecca Masjid attack were different. "In the Mecca Masjid blasts
18 May 2007 Mecca Masjid bombing
The Makkah Masjid bombing occurred on May 18, 2007 inside the Makkah Masjid, a mosque the old city area in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh located very close to Charminar. The blast was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb...
, it was a 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 TNT mixture...here it is entirely different (as some) ammonium nitrate-based chemical (was used)," said T Suresh, chief scientific officer of the CLUES bomb detection squad.
On 27 August, the Hyderabad police released the news that the bombs were constructed from Neogel-90, an ammonium nitrate-based explosive used commercially in road construction. The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
reported that this caused suspicion to be 'divided' between the Huji, which is known to have used Neogel in the past, and Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
organisations from the interior of Andhra Pradesh, who have been "planning retaliation for the state government’s hot-pursuit campaign"; Neogel-90 has not previously been used illegally in India, but has been seized in the past from Naxalite groups in 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....
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.
Investigations
Three people were picked up for questioning regarding the blast. Among them were a cycle shop owner, from Bibinagar, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Hyderabad. It is alleged that he supplied the steel balls used in the bombs.Andhra Pradesh police are expected to go to Lucknow to interrogate Jalaluddin Mullah, alias Babu Bhai, a key member of the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (Huji). The 40-year-old born in a village in West Bengal is now in Lucknow jail. He was arrested in June 2007 by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. He and Shahid Bilal were both working for Munir-ul-Islam alias Assadullah, a Huji commander in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
. Babu Bhai was inducted into terror by Asif Reza Khan, who was accused in the Partho Burman kidnapping case in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, and killed by the Gujarat Police in 2001.
A group of four individuals was taken for questioning, the Pioneer notes:
Reactions
President Pratibha PatilPratibha Patil
Pratibha 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...
, Vice President Hamid Ansari and 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...
condemned the Hyderabad blasts and expressed shock over the loss of innocent lives.
In the light of the twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad, eminent forensic scientist P. Chandra Sekharan has urged the 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...
to establish a “National Explosives Control Bureau (NECB)” on the lines of the Narcotics Control Bureau.
India has since 2004 lost more lives to terrorist incidents than all of North America, South America, Central America, Europe and Eurasia put together. (This does not include casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan, and does include casualties in Kashmir and against the internal Maoist insurgency).