| 2011 Mumbai bombings | |
|---|---|
  Opera House Zaveri Bazaar Dadar | |
| Location | 18°58′N72°49′E / 18.96°N 72.82°E /18.96; 72.82 (2011 Mumbai bombings) Opera House Zaveri Bazaar Dadar Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Date | 13 July 2011 18:54 – 19:06IST[1] (UTC+05:30) |
Attack type | Improvised explosive devices |
| Deaths | 26[2][3] |
| Injured | 130[4] |
| Perpetrators | Indian Mujahideen |
The2011 Mumbai bombings, also known as13/7, were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations inMumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST.[5] The blasts occurred at theOpera House, atZaveri Bazaar and atDadar West localities,[6] leaving 26 killed and 130 injured.[2][3][4]Indian Mujahideen is believed to have carried out the attack with the personal involvement of its co-founderYasin Bhatkal.[7]
The first device was planted on a motorcycle at Khau Gali in south Mumbai'sZaveri Bazaar and exploded at 18:54 local time. The second device, planted in atiffin box[8] outside Prasad Chambers andPanchratna Building, in theOpera House area onCharni Road, exploded at 18:55, the area of workplaces of 5,000–6,000 people connected with the diamond-trade industry.[9] The third device was placed on an electric pole at theDr Antonio Da Silva High SchoolBEST bus stand near Kabutar Khana inDadar area and exploded at 19:06.[10][11]
Following the blasts, phone lines were jammed and communications ceased or were available intermittently for at least a few hours. Other metropolitan cities, including Delhi,Chennai,Hyderabad andBangalore, were also put on high alert.[12] Immediately after the blasts, theMumbai Police sent an SMS to a few mobile phone users in Mumbai reading,
Bomb blasts reported at Zaveri Bazaar, Dadar. Please be careful. Stay indoors. Watch news channels".[13]
Most of the injured were rushed to various hospitals in Mumbai, such asJ.J. Hospital,St. George Hospital,Hurkisondas Hospital andG. T. Hospital.[14]
Mumbai has been hit by terrorist incidents at least half a dozen times since the early 1990s, with over 600 people dying in these attacks. In an editorial, theTimes of India described the city as having become a "hot hunting ground for terror."[15][16] A loss of Rs. 3 billion per day was reported at the closure of thePanchratna Building, after the blasts, where the people who lost their lives were mainly from the diamond industry, and at Zaveri Bazaar, were mostly goldsmiths.Rakesh Maria said that theAnti-Terrorism Squad (India), would soon release sketches of culprits, as the footage obtained from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at Opera House site was under scrutiny.[17]
The blasts claimed 26 lives and injured an additional 130 others.[3][4][18][19]
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh andIndian National Congress leaderSonia Gandhi visited Mumbai the next day and met with those injured in blasts atSaifee Hospital.[20] Prime MinisterManmohan Singh announced a compensation of₹2,00,000 to the kin of each of those killed and₹100,000 to the seriously injured. Meanwhile, theMaharashtra Government also announced₹500,000 in compensation to the families of each of those killed and about[vague]₹50,000 to the injured.[21]
There was speculation that the pattern of the blasts suggested involvement ofIndian Mujahideen (IM). According to the Delhi Police, Indian Mujaheddin has been conducting blasts on the 13 or 26 of the month.[nb 1][22] Speculation was also rife that the hard-line TalibanMumbai underworld could be behind these blasts, in the light of the killing of journalistJyotirmoy Dey, as well as the attempted assassination ofDawood Ibrahim's brother, Iqbal Kaskar on 3 May 2011. The day 13 July is also observed as Kashmir Martyr's day, and there could be a possibility that the attacks were carried out by Kashmiri groups.[23] There is also a view that the attacks could have been plotted by those trying to derail theIndo-Pakistani peace process.[24]
The slainMiD DAY crime journalistJyotirmoy Dey had previously reported that a huge cache of 35detonators, gelatin sticks and large quantity ofammonium nitrate explosives had been seized on 20 May 2011 from Umarkui and Sayli village inSilvassa. Ammonium nitrate, gelatin and detonators have been used in several bomb blasts in Mumbai previously. The report also mentioned that this cache had gone missing soon after local police took custody.[25] The journalist had also speculated that the cache might be used to trigger terror attacks in the city.[25] There were calls for further investigations into this link to the Mumbai blasts by his employerMiD DAY.[26]
TheHome Ministry classified the bomb blasts as a terrorist act and dispatched aNational Investigation Agency (NIA) team to the bomb site.[27] TheChief Minister of MaharashtraPrithviraj Chavan said that the bombs used could have been fuel filled, much likemolotov cocktails.[28] Preliminary investigations suggested the use of multipleIED explosives in the blasts withammonium nitrate-based explosives mixed with fuel oil.[29] The explosives indicate some level of sophistication. It is also believed that remotedetonators may have been used, with two of the three blasts being high-intensity.[30][31] The Home Minister also announced that his office would be updating the people through the media every two hours.[13]
The MaharashtraATS was reported to have sought a list of passengers travelling fromKolkata to Mumbai and Kolkata toKanpur from theKolkata Police. The suspicions were a result of a Kolkata man withIndian Mujahideen link having gone missing in the previous few days.[32] ANIA team visitedAhmedabad on 15 July 2011 to meet an Indian Mujahideen suspect who was arrested by the Crime Branch in connection with the2008 Ahmedabad bombings.[33] On 16 July, Maharashtra ATS ChiefRakesh Maria said that, based on forensic opinion and visit to the various sites, the possibility of a suicide bomber was being ruled out. However, a sketch of a possible suspect based on CCTV footage from one of the blast sites was being prepared. He added that in light of the sensitive nature of the investigation, the entire detail of the probe could not be revealed at that particular stage.[34][35]
On 4 August, Home MinisterP. Chidambaram suggested indications of involvement of a home-grown terror module in the blasts.[36][37]
On 9 August, the Maharashtra ATS arrested one person it claimed had stolen a bike used in theZaveri Bazaar explosion. The bike had been stolen from one Amit Singh a few hours before the blasts.[38]CCTV footage showed one person with long hair riding a stolen red colourHonda Activa, entering the crowded lane, taking two left turns, placing the scooter at the spot of the explosion and walking off.[39]
On 23 January 2012, theMumbai Police claimed that it had solved the Mumbai Blasts case with the arrests of two suspects – Naqi Ahmed Wasi Ahmed Sheikh (22) and Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaq Sheikh (23) – hailing fromDarbhanga district ofBihar.[40] The Mumbai Police's ATS claimed that the two had stolen two scooters used in the blasts according to a scheme whose logistics were managed byYasin Bhatkal, the mastermind of the blast.[41] However, this televised announcement baffled the other intelligence agencies. It was later revealed that Naqi Ahmed was assisting theDelhi Police and other central intelligence agencies in tracking down two other perpetrators of the blast.[40] Further investigations revealed that the two Pakistani bombers, named Waqqas and Tabrez, staying inByculla used as many as 18SIM cards and six handsets. The duo received sim cards from the co-accused Naqi Ahmed, who was arrested by the ATS in January 2012 for possessing SIM cards obtained with fake documents, following which Naqi admitted his role in the blasts and also admitted working with Indian Mujahideen's founder member Yasin Bhatkal in arranging accommodations for the bombers.[42]
On 25 May 2012, MaharashtraATS filed achargesheet against Naqee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija and Haroon Naik (all are under arrest). Additionally, thechargesheet named six others includingIndian Mujahideen mastermind Yasin Bhatkal andRiyaz Bhatkal, Waqas Ibrahim Sad, Danish alias Tarbez, Dubai based Muzaffar Kolah and Tehseen Akhtar as wanted accused on the run.[43][44]
On 4 February 2014, MaharashtraATS was handed over the custody ofIndian Mujahideen mastermind Yasin Bhatkal for probing the 2011 Mumbai Bombings Case.[45]
On 16 July 2014 Mumbai ATS arrested Abdul Mateen Fakki fromGoa’sDabolim Airport, while he arrived fromDubai by flight. He is accused of financing the terrorist operation by passing money throughHawala sources to Indian Mujahideen co-founderYasin Bhatkal.[46]
TheMumbai Police detained several men for questioning. One of those detained—Faiz Usmani—died while in police custody on 17 July,[47] sparking allegations ofpolice brutality. Usmani was the brother of one of the accused in the2008 Ahmedabad bombings case. It was alleged by his family members that Faiz Usmani was healthy when the police picked him up and that he was subjected totorture in police custody. The police dismissed these charges and countered that Usmani was suffering fromhypertension and complained of giddiness after walking himself into a police station. He was admitted to theLokmanya Tilak hospital,Sion, Mumbai, following which he died quickly due to bloodclots in brain and a heart attack.[48] ACID probe was ordered into Usmani's death.[49]
In the wake of the blasts,Boeing announced that the Boeing-787Dreamliner, which was on its maiden visit to India, would skip the Mumbai leg of the trip. An official said that it would have been insensitive to take the plane to Mumbai at this time when such a tragedy had occurred and that the decision had also been taken in view of security concerns and so as not to put added pressure to provide extra cover for the aircraft.[50]
Chief Minister of MaharashtraPrithviraj Chavan revealed a plan by the Maharashtra government for a future use ofsatellite phones and the development of asecure communication network so that the administrative functioning is not affected during such crises as a result of network problems. He also reiterated the need to expedite the procurement of police modernisation equipment and the installation ofCCTV cameras at prominent places in the city.[51] Following the Mumbai terror attacks theDirectorate General of Shipping (DGS) banned the use ofThuraya &Iridium satellite phones and infrastructure.[52] Restrictions were already in place in 2010, for similar reasons, under provisions in theIndian Telegraph Act, 1885.[53]
PresidentPratibha Patil and Vice-PresidentHamid Ansari expressed their shock and condemned the attacks in Mumbai.[54][55] Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh also condemned the bombing, and called on Mumbai citizens to remain calm and show unity.[56] Other politicians, such asSonia Gandhi, chairperson of theIndian National Congress andNitin Gadkari of theBJP expressed their anger and offered condolences to the families of the bombing victims.[55][57] Senior BJP leaderL K Advani visited Mumbai on 14 July and stated that the repeated attacks in Mumbai prove policy failure on part of the government.[58] The Left parties (CPI andCPI (M)) strongly condemned the Mumbai serial blasts and rued the government's inability to track down the perpetrators of recent terror strikes.[59] Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that this was an attack on the heart of India.[60] Home MinisterP. Chidambaram left Delhi for Mumbai on the same night and visited the three blast sites, met the injured in the hospitals, and interacted with the family members of the dead.[61]
Local politician,Manohar Joshi of theShiv Sena, urged the government to "take immediate steps and find out who are people behind the blasts."[62]
INC general secretaryRahul Gandhi remarked that it was impossible to stop every terror attack. He said that 99 per cent of terror attacks had been prevented in the country thanks to various measures, such as improved intelligence collection efforts. He added that "We work towards defeating it, but it is very difficult to stop all the attacks. Even the United States, they are being attacked in Afghanistan.".[63] His comments drew flak from some quarters of the Indian political spectrum, who criticised him for equating the Mumbai attacks with those in Afghanistan and called it an insult to those killed in the blasts.[64][65]
Chairman of the moderateHurriyat factionMirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the Mumbai blasts saying such incidents are orchestrated to derail the dialogue process between India and Pakistan and that those involved in the killing of innocent people are enemies of humanity'. In a statement, he said "We are saddened by the huge loss of life in the Mumbai blasts and condemn it. Spilling the blood of innocents, be it in Mumbai, Palestine, Karachi or Kashmir, is a shameful and inhuman act."[66][67]
A statement issued by UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon's office read: "The Secretary-General condemns the attacks that have killed and injured many in Mumbai," said a statement from his office. "No cause or grievance can justify indiscriminate violence against civilians. The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of India, and extends his sincere condolences to the families of the victims," it added.[68]
European Union foreign policy chiefCatherine Ashton's office released a statement that read: "(Ashton) was horrified to hear that Mumbai has again been the target of a series of deadly bomb attacks. She condemns these heinous acts and expresses her condolences to the families and friends of the victims. It is essential that the perpetrators these evil attacks are brought to justice," stated a release issued by her office.[70]
Secretary General of NATOAnders Fogh Rasmussen expressed deepest sympathies to the victims of the terrorist attacks in heavily populated areas of Mumbai. He condemned in the strongest possible terms the indiscriminate violence and the senseless loss of innocent lives.[71]
