Jump to content

13 September 2008 Delhi bombings

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 69.250.187.194 (talk) at 17:41, 13 September 2008 (→India: india reaction addition). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

13 September 2008 New Delhi bombings
LocationNew Delhi, India
Date13 September 2008 (UTC+5.5)
Deaths20[1]
Injured90[1]

The 2008 New Delhi bombings were a series of synchronized bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes on 13 September 2008 at various locations in New Delhi, the capital city of India.[2]The first bomb exploded at 6:30 pm IST (1300 GMT), and others blasts followed in quick succession.[3]

Details

Five blasts took place within a span of 45 minutes from 6:15 to 7:00 in busy markets or commercial localities. Three bombs were defused.

The first blast took place at 18:15 (IST) at Ghaffar market (a municipal market along a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh) in which at least 20 people were injured. They were rushed to nearby RML hospital. The explosive was kept near a car, and resulted in a cylinder blast in an auto rickshaw, which was subsequently thrown up several feet into the air.[4]

Immediately after, three explosions took place in Connaught Place in which at least 10 people were injured. Police and witnesses said that went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. The first of these blasts occured on Barakhamba Road, near Nirmal Tower. The second blast took place near Gopal Das Tower. The third bomb exploded in Central Park - a newly constructed park in the centre of the Connaught Place roundabout, built above one of the main stations of the Delhi Metro.

Another explosion rocked M-Block market in Greater Kailash-I at about 18:40, and damaged 10 shops. [2]

Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal told reporters, "Ten people have died so far," and added that three more bombs were found and defused.[5]

Preliminary examination of the blast site said that low intensity ammonium nitrate tied to integrated circuits with timer devices had been used in almost all the serial blasts. [2]

Three bombs were also defused - the first one at India Gate, the second outside Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, and the third at an undisclosed location in Connaught Place.

Response

Security was tightened across the National Capital, with police personnel fanning out in large numbers to railway and Metro stations, hospitals, bus terminals,the airport and other sensitive points like cinema halls, shopping malls and religious places. Barricades were put up on most city roads to check traffic. Several major markets, including the Sarojini Nagar market, which was targeted in the previous Diwali-eve blasts in 2005, were shut down and evacuated. Cyber café owners were asked to keep a tab on customers.

A Central Industrial Security Force spokesperson state that "security has already been strengthened and frisking and checking of the commuters have been stepped up. The Metro is under constant vigil,". He added that extra personnel had been pressed into service to keep an eye on commuters. [2]

Responsibility

The "Indian Mujahideen" sent an email to all major TV channels, warning them of the blasts after five minutes, just as it did before bomb blasts in Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.

In the name of Allah, the Indian Mujahideen has struck back again.[2]

The email was sent from al_arbi_delhi@yahoo.com. The email threatened 9 blasts.[6][2] Reports claim that the Indian Mujahideen called this operation "Operation BAD", encompassing the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi Bombings.

The Indian Mujahideen also claimed responsibility in May for serial bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the northwest city of Jaipur. In the Jaipur claim, the group declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of United States' policies.[7] The accused in the Jaipur case had claimed that after Bengalore and Jaipur, New Delhi as well as Chennai were on the list of potential terror targets. Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, but say local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.[5]

Arrests

Two persons were detained from Connaught Place area soon after the blasts. Delhi Police said a boy named Rahul had claimed to have seen the terrorists. Rahul informed the police that terrorists clad in black kurta-pyjama were seen travelling in an auto-rickshaw.[8] The Delhi Police soon, within 3 hours of the blast, arrested another person who the police suspect to be the mastermind of the blast.

Reactions

India

  • President Pratibha Patil condemned the blasts and condoled the loss of lives in the "mindless act of violence".[9]
  • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while expressing grief over the loss of lives, strongly condemned the serial blasts and appealed to the people to maintain calm.[10]
  • Ruling Indian National Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, while condemning the blasts, said that those responsible for the dastardly act will not be "spared".[11]
  • Home Minister Shivraj Patil condemned the blasts and said that anti-national elements have been trying to disturb peace and create panic among the people in various parts of the country. Assuring that the government will continue to deal firmly with such elements, he urged the public to "maintain peace and tranquility and defeat the nefarious design of the culprits."[12]
  • New Delhi mayor, Arti Mehra, stated that the city would not be intimidated by the "cowardly" attacks. [13]

International

 Pakistan

  • Pakistan's new President Asif Ali Zardari "strongly condemned" the bomb attacks, expressing "shock and grief over the loss of precious human lives".[14]
  • Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said the bombers were "enemies of humanity".[14]
  • Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman condemned the serial blasts in New Delhi in strongest terms by saying that they were a “barbaric act of cowardice”, and that the elements involved in this act were enemies of humanity.[15]

 United Kingdom

  • Justice Minister Jack Straw conveyed his deepest sympathies to the victims and the families of those affected. Straw, who was on a visit to India during this time, added that the British Government condemns all acts of terrorism, and hoped to work together with the Indian government to tackle terrorism.[16]

 United States

References

  1. ^ a b "20 killed, 90 injured in 5 blasts across Delhi". NDTV. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Serial blasts rock Delhi; several injured
  3. ^ Bomb blasts rock New Delhi
  4. ^ http://broadband.indiatimes.com/videoshow/3479920.cms
  5. ^ a b "Five bombs explode in Indian capital". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  6. ^ http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/2008/09/serial-blasts-rock-delhi-50-injured.html
  7. ^ "Officials: At least 14 dead in New Delhi blasts". CNN. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  8. ^ "Serial blasts rock Delhi; 18 dead, over 100 injured". The Times of India. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  9. ^ "India's New Delhi Rocked by Blasts in Three Markets; 10 Killed". Bloomberg. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Delhi blasts: Manmohan condemns terror attack". Agencies. The Indian Express. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Sonia condemns Delhi blasts". Indo-Asian News Servicea. The Economic Times. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Shivraj Patil condemns Delhi Blasts". Ministry for Home Affairs. PIB. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  13. ^ "Delhi shopping areas hit by bombs". BBC. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  14. ^ a b "Wave of blasts hits Delhi markets". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  15. ^ "Sherry denounces Delhi blasts". The News. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "British minister condemns Delhi blasts". Indo-Asian News Service. The Economic Times. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "New Delhi blasts kill 18". The Associated Press. USA Today. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Stub icon

This India-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=13_September_2008_Delhi_bombings&oldid=238182058"