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=== Derailment of the India-Pakistan peace process === === Derailment of the India-Pakistan peace process ===
Perhaps the most important toll of the Mumbai blasts seems to be the three-year long ]. The Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan to review the Composite Dialogue process — which the two countries had tentatively agreed months ago to hold on ] — are now unlikely to take place, at least in the near future. ] is no longer willing to engage in dialogue with Pakistan unless Islamabad takes concrete and tangible steps addressing Indian concerns on the issue of the neighbouring country’s alleged support to terrorists working against India from Pakistani soil.<ref name="Impact of blasts on peace process"> {{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060713/nation.htm#3|title="Mumbai blasts derail Indo-Pak peace process"|publisher=]|accessdate=2006-07-13}}</ref> Perhaps the most important toll of the Mumbai blasts seems to be the three-year long ]. The Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan to review the Composite Dialogue process — which the two countries had tentatively agreed months ago to hold on ] — are now unlikely to take place, at least in the near future. ] is no longer willing to engage in dialogue with Pakistan unless Islamabad takes concrete and tangible steps addressing Indian concerns on the issue of the neighbouring country’s support to terrorists working against India from Pakistani soil.<ref name="Impact of blasts on peace process"> {{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060713/nation.htm#3|title="Mumbai blasts derail Indo-Pak peace process"|publisher=]|accessdate=2006-07-13}}</ref>


== Investigation == == Investigation ==

Revision as of 23:54, 14 July 2006

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July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
File:Mumbai2006.jpgOne of the bomb-damaged coaches
LocationMumbai, India
Date11 July 2006
18:24 – 18:35 (UTC+5.5)
TargetMumbai Suburban Railway
Attack typeBombings
Deaths200+
Injured714+
PerpetratorsTo be determined
Map showing the 'Western line' and blast locations.

The 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. An additional bomb was also found, but defused, at the Borivali station. Mumbai is India's financial capital and most populous city, and the near-simultaneous blasts happened between 6:24 pm and 6:35 pm, at the height of the evening rush hour. The attacks claimed at least 200 lives and caused more than 700 injuries.

Details

The bombs were placed on trains plying on the western line of the suburban ("local") train network, which forms the backbone of the city's transport network. The first blast reportedly took place at 18:24 IST (12:54 UTC), and the explosions continued for approximately eleven minutes, until 18:35, during the after-work rush hour. All the bombs had been placed in the first-class "general" compartments (some compartments are reserved for women, called "ladies" compartments) of several trains running from Churchgate, the city-centre end of the western railway line, to the western suburbs of the city. They exploded at or in the near vicinity of the suburban railway stations of Matunga Road, Mahim, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali, which was the site of two blasts.

These bomb attacks in Mumbai came hours after a series of grenade attacks in Srinagar, the largest city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Although Home Secretary V K Duggal said there was no link between the Srinagar and Mumbai bomb blasts, details as to the possible existence of a link are not clear, with conflicting reports emerging as to whether the attacks were committed by the same group, or for that matter, as to the nature of the group that committed the attacks.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known".

Injuries and fatalities

11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
Confirmed casualties
Location Time (IST) Deaths Injured Sources
Khar Road 18:24 71
Bandra 18:24
Jogeshwari 18:25 29
Mahim 18:26 22
Bhayandar - Mira Road 18:29 44
Matunga Road 18:30 24
Borivali 18:35 10
Total 11 Minutes 200 714
One bomb exploded at this location, but another one was found by police and defused.

The Police Commissioner of Mumbai, A. N. Roy, indicated that more than 100 were killed and hundreds wounded in these blasts; he also added, "there have been seven blasts along the city's commuter rail network, which is among the most crowded in the world." Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil confirmed that a total of 200 people were killed and another 714 others have been injured. The entire Western Railway was shut down for the space of several hours, but at around midnight local time it was reported that sections were resuming partial service. Services remained running on the Central Railway Suburban lines.

Various news organisations have reported that at least 200 people have died and that more than 700 others have been injured.

An official list of the dead and the injured admitted to different hospitals has been put up by the Mumbai Police. Also available is a List of the dead, transliterated from the Devanāgarī script. NDTV has also compiled a list of the injured and dead on its website.

Response

Life as usual A commuter returns home a day after the bomb blasts

A state of high alert was declared in India's major cities. Both the airports in Mumbai were placed on high alert. The western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network was at first shut down, although some trains resumed service later, and stringent security arrangements, including frisking and searching of commuters, were instituted on the other lines of the network. The city's bus service, the BEST, pressed extra buses into service to transport stranded commuters home.

The Prime Minister also held a security meeting at his residence attended by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, and Home Secretary V K Duggal.

Resumption of services and return to normality

Rail services were restored on 12 July. As a show of investor confidence, the Mumbai Stock Exchange rebounded, starting the day with the BSE Sensex Index up by nearly 1% in morning trade. Foreign investors also retained confidence, with the Sensex up almost 3% at 10,930.09 at the end of the day's trade.

Rescue and relief operations

  • Indian Railways announced Rs 5,00,000 (approx. US$10,000) compensation and a job to the next of kin of those killed in the serial blasts in Mumbai. The announcements were made by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav after visiting those injured in the blasts at a hospital in Mumbai.

Sources of information

Due to the mobile phone networks being jammed, news channels such as NDTV ran tickertapes with information of injured individuals as well as SMS messages from those who wish to contact their families. Reports indicated that at around 18:00 UTC on 11 July (midnight in Mumbai), the phone networks were restoring service; telephone service was completely restored during the night.

Mumbai Help, a blog run by around thirty bloggers, was a useful source of information, especially for those outside India.

Derailment of the India-Pakistan peace process

Perhaps the most important toll of the Mumbai blasts seems to be the three-year long India-Pakistan peace process. The Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan to review the Composite Dialogue process — which the two countries had tentatively agreed months ago to hold on 21 July — are now unlikely to take place, at least in the near future. New Delhi is no longer willing to engage in dialogue with Pakistan unless Islamabad takes concrete and tangible steps addressing Indian concerns on the issue of the neighbouring country’s support to terrorists working against India from Pakistani soil.

Investigation

Some 350 arrests were made 36 hours after the incident in Maharashtra, though police claim that these are people rounded up for investigations. Forensic examinations have confirmed that the explosive used in the blasts was not RDX and it could have been dynamite or ammonium nitrate. Until now, no official claim of responsibility has been made.

Late in the evening of 11 July, The Times of India quoted anonymous intelligence sources in New Delhi as being "pretty sure" that the attacks were perpetrated by religious extremists from the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India militant groups. Both of these organisations have since denied responsibility for the bombings. Currently, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI are the prime suspects.

On 13 July, a man claiming to be a spokesperson for Al-Qaeda called up a local news agency in Srinagar to announce the arrival of the group in Kashmir. The alleged al-Qaeda spokesman said the blasts were a "consequence of Indian oppression and suppression of minorities, particularly Muslims." There have been reports that Al-Qaeda men had infiltrated into the Valley for the past few years, particularly after the US went after it in Afghanistan and Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks. Also, it has been said that links have been found between Al-Qaeda and terror groups like LeT in India.

Notes and references

  1. "Death Toll in India Train Bombings at 200". 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "At least 174 killed in Indian train blasts". cnn.com. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. "Blasts rock Mumbai rail network". news.bbc.co.uk. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. "Tuesday terror: Six blasts rock Mumbai railway stations". indiatimes.com. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Serial blasts rock Mumbai, 172 killed". ndtv.com. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. "Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs". news.bbc.co.uk. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. "Serial Blasts in Mumbai railway stations". 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. "Multiple blasts rock India trains, killing 200". 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. "Death Toll at 200 in India Train Bombings". 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. "'Everything was blacked out': Mumbai blast survivor". 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. "Mumbai Death Toll Tops 200". CBS News. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. "Mumbai Terror Death Toll At 200". CTV. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. "Death Toll in India Train Bombings at 200". breitbart.com. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  14. Template:Hi icon "List Of Injured & Dead In Blast" (in Hindi). Mumbai Police. Retrieved 2006-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  15. "India's Commercial Hub Mumbai Rocked by 5 Explosions". bloomberg.com. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. "PM reviews security situation after blasts". NDTV. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
  17. ""Mumbai back on track"". The Hindu. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  18. "Lalu offers Rs. 5 lakh, railway job to kin of dead". The Hindu. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. "Mumbia Blasts". NDTV. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2006-07-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ""Mumbai blasts derail Indo-Pak peace process"". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  21. ""350 rounded up in Maharashtra"". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  22. ""Forensic tests rule out use of RDX, uncertainty grips 'LeT involvement'"". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  23. "LeT, SIMI hand in Mumbai blasts" Times of India
  24. "Police raids seek Mumbai bombers". bbc.co.uk. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. "SIMI involved in Mumbai blasts: Home Ministry". ndtv.com. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ""Manmohan warns Pak: Stop terror"". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  28. ""Al-Qaeda drops bombshell, says has network in J&K"". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2006-07-13.

See also

External links

See also

  • : Flickr photo compilation by Mumbai resident and writer Jeffrey Rufus. See also publication mention in the India Times.
  • : Editorial documentation by Mumbai resident and writer Jeffrey Rufus
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