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New Delhi, September 13
Terror returned to Delhi on Saturday, nearly three years after the 2005 Diwali bombings. Five blasts in busy marketplaces killed 21 people and left at least 101 injured, many of whom were fighting for their lives in six city hospitals. Bombs wrapped in plastic bags and attached to cheap clock timers went off in Karol Bagh, Connaught Place and M Block market in Greater Kailash I between 6.07 pm and 6.38 pm, targeting festival shoppers and families on weekend outings.Soon after the attacks, Commissioner of Police Y S Dadwal said, “We have vital clues in the blast and it would be cracked very soon.” Later in the evening, police sources said the Special Cell had detained two people, one from Palika Bazar and the other from Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Both were said to be activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
The first bomb exploded in an autorickshaw at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh at 6.07 pm, killing 11 people and injuring at least 37. Glasspanes shattered 500 metres away, and a cloud of dust and debris rose that eyewitnesses said made it difficult to see in a 50-metre radius around the blast site for at least the next five minutes. “I saw five people lying dead on the spot, and many others drenched in blood,” said Roshan Lal, who was only a few metres away from the autorickshaw.
Even as people had begun to ferry the victims of the blast to the Sir Ganga Ram, Jessa Ram, Lady Hardinge, Jeevanmala and Ram Manohar Lohia hospitals, came news of two other explosions a few kilometres away in Connaught Place. A bomb went off in a municipal rubbish bin on Barakhamba Road at 6.34 pm, splattering a 20 square-foot area with garbage. Exactly two minutes later, another bomb exploded in Central Park, also in a rubbish bin.
“I was sitting on my chair when suddenly there was a loud bang. Through a thick cloud of smoke, I saw a woman and a sadhu in a pool of blood. The rubbish bin had been ripped apart, and an autorickshaw stood with its glass smashed and roof sagged,” said Puran Singh, who mans an NDMC toilet in front of the blast site on Barakhamba Road. Two buses, a Blueline and a Whiteline, were standing some distance from the bin; the explosion could have been catastrophic if they had been nearer.
At almost exactly the same time as the Connaught Place blasts, two bombs went off in bustling M Block Market in GK I, at 6.36 pm and 6.38 pm. Five people were injured. Police officers said these bombs too had been kept in garbage bins. “As soon as the first blast took place, people panicked and started running here and there. I was speaking to them over the public address system, asking them to assemble in the park, when the second blast took place,” said O P Shardha, municipal councillor of the area.
But Delhi’s Saturday evening nightmare wasn’t over yet. Some young ragpickers found three plastic bags in the Connaught Place area, all of which turned out to be live bombs.
The first of these was discovered in another Central Park garbage bin just after 7 pm, and was defused by the National Security Guard and Bomb Disposal Squads.
At around 7.15, another ragpicker found what he thought was a ticking clock in a rubbish bin outside Regal Cinema on the Outer Circle. Beat Constable Suresh took it from the boy and, after removing a wire, dug it in the ground.
Five minutes later, another ragpicker found a third live bomb, this one in Children’s Park at India Gate, which is normally crowded on weekends. The bomb was defused within 15 minutes. Sometime later, there was information about a suspicious bag on Parliament Street, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
Commissioner Dadwal told The Indian Express: “The terrorists had kept the bombs in bins in plastic bags at four places and bombs were filled with ball bearings, pieces of metal and some sharpnel. We have made all security arrangements, and the city does not need to feel unsafe.”
Police sources said ammonium nitrate had been used in all the bombs, and some gunpowder had been found in M Block Market. The bombs were C-shaped, very similar to the ones used in the Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipur attacks, they added.
A few minutes after the Connaught Place blasts, a Palika Bazaar security guard noticed two suspicious people in a toilet of the underground market. They tried to flee when challenged, but the guard caught one of them. This man is believed to be one of the suspects, and has been detained for interrogation.
A 12-year-old boy, who was standing nearby, claimed that he had seen two men in black throwing something in the bin. Police took the boy away for questioning and a detailed description of the men. Forensic teams found sharpnel, some ball bearings, a broken mobile phone, a steel box and some chemical explosive from the Barakhamba explosion site.
The attacks have come a week after the Intelligence Bureau wrote to the Delhi Police saying Delhi could be next in line after the terrorist strikes in Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Immediately after the blasts, some news channels received a mail from the ‘Indian Mujahideen’, claiming credit. The mail mentioned that there would be nine blasts in Delhi, and criticised what it said was a skew in media coverage.
Meanwhile, central agencies were believed to have picked up definite clues about the attackers. Investigators suspect that SIMI activist Tauqeer, who was last known to be in Nanded in Maharashtra, is behind the e-mail sent to the media minutes before the blasts. Official sources said the bombs were similar to the ones planted in Surat, using ammonium nitrate. That the devices were planted by a team each is indicated by the fact that the GK I device was placed at a very short distance between M-9 and M-29 shops. The Karol Bagh device appears to have been hurriedly left some distance away from the main Ajmal Khan Road market, they said.
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SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... SHAME....... Shame on all the politicians who will be taking milage on this where innocent people have lost their life.
This is stomach-churning and sickening, to see Inhuman and Eunuch mentality beasts striking again, more than these rakshashas I loathe our Napunsak politicians - Congress which abolishes all strict anti-terror laws and with a puppet PM and a Puppet Master whose only job is to some how please the minorities for their 20% vote bank. We Indians will see these dastardly acts of Terrorists repeat again and again, who will save us? When we cannot save ourselves?God Alone Knows
Delhi's serial blast are cowardly and inhuman act of terrorism. No words are strong enough to condemn this act. This shocked and disturbed peace of whole nation. Such mindless and heartless acts of terrorism need to be dealt with firmness and resolve.
AAM ADMI demands that Sonia must force Shivraj resign as the Home Minister. Manmohan is too high a price to seek although he is the right man to go. Terrorism and inflation is the contribution of UPA, Sonia and Manmohan!!!!
blasts are happening on and off,sequentially,serially,killing innocentsand creating fear psycosis in people.the vvips at the hem of affairs are not affected since they have 24by 7 z category security.terrorists sympathise with and are favourable to humanrights activists,and vocal secularists?condemned ,convicted criminals escape the gallowsfor electoral considerations.conversions,majority bashing is going on unabated.terror laws are weak,so all this is a fertile breeding nidus for terrorism.we should elect such people who can ensure security to our people.let us emulate what isaelis are doing under such circumstances..
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ............... very shortly you will find a few politicians coming on TV with Lipstick Bindi and some with white kurta pajayamas and saying this should not happen and then condemn this.................... AND SHORTLY AFTER THAT YOU WILL FIND THEM back to corruption........... vote bank politics................ taking care of their chair/ powers (cling on to it). WHO CARES FOR THE COUNTRY. This is not the current government all of them are the same. Opposition will have NO BETTER TIME TO SAY THAT THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT IS USELESS and once they are in power they are the same…..I FEEL ASHAMED THAT WE HAVE SUCH POLITICIANS WHO LEAD OUR GREAT COUNTRY WITH SUCH COWARDLINESS. WAKE UP GUYS ITS TIME TO ROLL UP OUR SLEEVS
Treat a terrorist as a terrorist, he has no face, no religion, no morality, no conscience and no faith, nor he is God-conscious. Catch the kingpin and the original planners and hang them from a tree top or hang them within a week or so, do not show any mercy on the leaders who planned the bomb attack, do not discriminate, go to the root of the problem, do not accuse any religious group straight away, 99.99% of the Indians have no share in terrorist violence, it is the fringe fanatics and personal vengence that cause this sort of violence.Do not jump into conclusion. At the same time we have to try hard to solve all the problems in a fair and equitable way including that of Kashmir. The recent Govt action has increased the militancy in Kashmir and it may spill over to other parts of India such as Delhi and UP. Make Kashmir an autonomous state as it was in 1948, Kashmiri hatred of Pakistan is well known. They will eventually accept totallly cedeing to India.
whats going on. India do not have a bright future. This government is just watching and the big thing is people of India are not raising there voice. Please, watch A WEDNESDAY a new released hindi movie to get some motivation against terror or just die.
Its a shame that every terrorist activites are termed as Islamic Terrorism!!what about what happened in orissa. Nobody is conserned about it. Ahmedabad blasts,Banglore blasts,insurgency J
Dr Manmohan...please dust your template documents that you usually readout during the blasts...its time again. You are the most impotent PM India ever had. If there is consience leftout in your heart...just step down.
its the congress policy of lack of firmness and resolve that is responsible for such terrorist attacks again and again. they should not hesitate to empower the police and allow them to aggressively go after these terrorists. i am sure muslims will not have any problem because those who are innocent (muslims) will not mind the police agressively interrogating and pursuing possible leads. the police shuld be given a free hand. but the UPA will not be be able to do this because of thier vote-bank politics. in fact it is in muslims' own interests to allow the poilice to bring the culprits to book. otherwise the entire muslim community is unfortunately getting a bad name. anyway, all this is getting a bit ahead of the story becoz - let us see who claims responsibility for this.
MM,Italian lady etc will issue usual already ready cyclostiled copy of statement expressing shock at blasts , sympathies to families and zero tolerance on terrorism (not a single blast case solved and a terrorist punished. ) HM existing laws suficient to tackle terrorism and his deputy will say we have already warned delhi govt. All these people are surrounded by black cats and well protected leaving the common people to die in cold blood. Media , NGOs etc called for Modi's ouster and prosecution as he failed to protect the muslim peope but do not talk of same with UPA Govt when it miseraby failed protect the innocent Hindus against islamic terrorists.Earlier the UPA Govt is kicked out no safety for innocent , poor , common people of Hindus.
Congratulations to Congress-UPA govt. Congratulations to Dr Clean MM Singh and his Italian master. Congratulations to Secularists. Congratulations to Secular media, including IE. Celebration time, You all must celebrate the occasion with champaines and other high parties.
BLAST IN DELHI.
Its shameful thing for both Government and Common People..... they have learned nothing from previous Blasts.
it is big time... we are such a losers... we can even find one plot before time... lol.. we are big losers