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2005 Delhi bombings
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2005 Islamist terror attack in Delhi, India
August 2022
December 2021
January 2014
Islamic terrorism 2005 October 29 New Delhi Bomb blasts map.png Delhi map showing the location of the bomb blasts: (1) Pahargunj, (2) Sarojini Nagar market, (3) Govindpuri 2005 Delhi bombings Delhi, India Two markets and a bus 29 October 2005 5:38 pm 6:05 pm UTC+5.5 Bombings 62 210 Lashkar-e-TaibaIndian Mujahideen
thumb|right|India map showing Delhi|180px
The 2005 Delhi bombings occurred on 29 October 2005 in Delhi, India, killing 62 people and injuring at least 210 othershttp://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1826434,00.html Delhi blasts death toll at 62 https://web.archive.org/web/20051105143402/http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0%2C%2C2-10-1462_1826434%2C00.html 5 November 2005 dead in three explosions. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of Diwali, which is celebrated by Indians. The bombs were triggered in two markets in central and south Delhi and in a bus south of the city. The Pakistani Islamist terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attacks under the pseudonym of Islamic Inquilab Mahaz.Incident Summary for GTDID: 200510290001 https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200510290001 2022-08-20 Global Terrorism Database The Indian Mujahideen is also suspected of involvement.Das Shaswati 2018-04-19 NIA arrests Indian Mujahideen operative Ariz Khan wanted in 2005 Delhi blasts case https://www.livemint.com/Politics/6Filmx8MSCvrGDiALvMreN/NIA-arrests-Indian-Mujahideen-operative-Ariz-Khan-wanted-in.html 2022-08-20 mint en
President A P J Abdul Kalam condemned the blasts in Delhi and sent condolences to the bereaved and other victims. Kalam appealed to the people "to maintain calm and help the agencies in relief and rescue work." Parts of India were moved to higher alert following the blasts.
Timeline
The blasts happened as follows:http://wits.nctc.gov/reports/crot2005nctcannexfinal.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20060707180516/http://wits.nctc.gov/reports/crot2005nctcannexfinal.pdf 2006-07-07 Report on Incidents of Terrorism 2005 11 April 2006
The first blast took place in the main bazaar of Paharganj near the New Delhi Railway Station at around 5:38 pm (UTC+05:30).
The second blast took place near a bus in Govindpuri area at 6:00 pm (IST)* in the southern part of the city.
Within minutes of the second explosion, at 6:05 pm (IST)*, the third explosion took place in South Delhi's busy Sarojini Nagar market.
Modus operandi and suspects
The first explosion (Paharganj explosion) occurred outside New Delhi Railway Station. The explosive device was planted in a two-wheeler (generic term used in India for any motorised vehicle with two wheels, such as a motorcycle or a motorscooter). When the bomb exploded, it ripped apart the M S Medicos, a medical shop outside which the two-wheeler was parked. According to Rediff.com the shop was badly damaged with glass strewn all over the street and blood splattered all over the ground. When the explosion took place large number of people were eating golgappas in the adjoining snacks-cum-sweet shop resulting in the high number of deaths in the area.
The Govindpuri explosion, which took place inside a bus, injured nine people, four critically. 35–40 people were travelling in the bus when the conductor of the bus spotted a suspicious plastic bag which none of the passengers claimed. The passengers were already suspicious as a man had climbed aboard the bus and refused to buy a ticket, according to the BBC, leaving his large, black bag aboard. The driver and conductor of the bus quickly alerted and disembarked the passengers and, by doing so, minimised the damage when the bomb was thrown out of a window. At the time of the explosion, only five people remained inside the bus. However, the driver and conductor sustained injuries in their rescue effort, and the driver's condition was critical according to NDTV. According to the Indian police, the Govindpuri bomb operated on an electronic timer.
The third and most devastating explosion took place in a very crowded corner of the busy Sarojini Nagar market. According to The Hindu website, the eyewitnesses claim that the bomb was placed in a white colour Maruti van whose front and rear mirrors were shattered due to the explosion. The bomb went off near a vendor using a gas cylinder, which exploded, triggering multiple explosions and leading to an outbreak of fire in a row of shops. Apart from resulting in the death of 43 people and injuring about another 28 people, half-a-dozen clothing shops and a few vehicles parked behind these shops were destroyed due to this explosion.
It is believed that the explosive used to carry out the blasts is RDX.
It is also believed that the blasts were connected to Quds Day, on Friday, October 28, 2005, which creates terror worldwide, against Israel and United States. To mark the Jumu'atul-Wida, which is the last Friday of Ramadan, as Al-Quds Day, was initiated by Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini, in 1979 to support Palestine Muslims.Delhi Blasts, A Chilling Reminder, Karachi: Rally held to mark Al-Quds Day
Suspects
The Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility on a jihadist website, through the name of "Islamic Inquilab Mahaz" (Islamic Revolutionary Front). It had previously carried out similar attacks in Karachi using the same name.Majumder Sanjoy October 31, 2005 Who is behind the Delhi bombings? BBC News BBC Delhi https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4390460.stm December 24, 2009October 31, 2005 Group Says It Staged Indian Blasts The Washington Post Associated Press https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/30/AR2005103000900.html December 24, 200915 November 2005 Delhi Metro was in LeT's cross-hairs http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm live https://web.archive.org/web/20120118194110/http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm 18 January 2012 17 December 2011 Rediff.com
The Delhi Police released three sketches of one of the suspected bombers involved in the bombings.http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Delhiblasts&slug=Delhi+blasts%3A+Sketches+of+suspect+released&id=18090&callid=0&category=National https://web.archive.org/web/20060720054932/http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Delhiblasts&slug=Delhi%2Bblasts%3A%2BSketches%2Bof%2Bsuspect%2Breleased&id=18090&callid=0&category=National 20 July 2006 Delhi blasts: Cops release sketches of suspect dead
According to NDTV, ten suspects have been detained following the blasts. Five of them were picked up from the Delhi Railway station and others from other railway stations and bus terminals.
Tariq Ahmad Dar, was arrested in Kashmir, as the alleged suspect of the attacks on 10 November 2005.http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/13dblast.htm Delhi blast suspect arrested in Kashmir Rediff.com 31 December 2004 30 March 2012 The police also arrested the suspected Govindpuri bomber, Mohammed Rafiq Shah."2005 blasts: Court seeks accused's call records". The Hindustan Times, 29 October 2007. They were freed in Feb 2017 for lack of evidence.https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/12-years-a-prisoner-man-freed-in-delhi-blast-case-says-i-feel-lucky-1660571 12 Years a Prisoner, Man Freed in Delhi Blast Case Says 'I Feel Lucky'
Casualties
Thirty eight people were declared dead in Safdarjang hospital, ten in Lady Hardinge Hospital, five in Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and two in AIIMS. The number of fatalities later rose to 62, with about 210 injured.January 2021
+ 29 October 2005 casualties Place Deaths Injured Sources Pahargunj blast 18 60 (Rediff) Sarojini Nagar market blast 43 28 (Rediff) Govindpuri blast 0 4 (Rediff)Total 61 92
Rescue and relief operations
Relatives of the dead and injured received money and medical help from the government:
"Rs 300,000 will be given as ex-gratia to next of the kin of every dead person, while those seriously injured will get Rs 50,000," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told reporters.
The injured received free treatment at any government hospital.
Reactions
Delhi police ordered all temples and restaurants in Delhi closed shortly after the explosions, and the city of Delhi went on red alert.
Bomb hoaxes
At least two phone calls reporting fake bombs have been received by the Delhi police, including a false report of a bomb in a school (or a fair) for people with visual disabilities. In addition, there was a phone call reporting a (purportedly fake) bomb near a bank in Khari Baoli before the attacks occurred; the object referred to by the call was a suitcase, in which there were documents, batteries, and wires. In the midst of the attacks, there was another hoax call reporting a bomb going off in the Gole Market.30 October 2005 Breaking News http://www.newindpress.com/newsItems.asp?id=IEL20051030095500&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&rLink=-429 https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092242/http://www.newindpress.com/newsItems.asp?id=IEL20051030095500&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&rLink=-429 29 September 2007 New Indian Expresshttp://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57544 https://web.archive.org/web/20051216045825/http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57544 2005-12-16 2 hours before blast, false alarm at Khari Baoli
The Delhi police, after the explosions, sent out messages to the public asking them to report unidentified objects. This led to a wave of reports of "bombs", all of which proved to be either nonexistent or more benign objects, including a "bomb" at the Som Bazaar in eastern Delhi and another "bomb" near the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
World reaction
The bombings have provoked strong international condemnation from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Iran, UAE, European Union, Bangladesh, Maldives, and South Africa.
See also
1993 Mumbai bombings
List of terrorist incidents
Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism
References
External links
Incident Summary at the Global Terrorism Database.
Serial Blasts in Delhi . 13 September 2008. indiatwo.com.
How the Delhi blasts case was cracked. 20 October 2006.September 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes
Serial blasts rock Delhi, nearly 50 dead. NDTV.
India explosions. 29 October 2005. CNN Asia Pacific.
Editorial: Serial blasts, sleeper cells and terror. 31 October 2005. Times of India.
Video report. MSNBC.
News. BBC Delhi.
News update. BBC India.
Category:21st-century mass murders in India
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