Bangalore bombings

2008 Bangalore serial blasts occurred on July 25, 2008 in Bangalore, India. A series of nine bombs exploded in which two people were killed and 20 injured. According to the Bangalore City Police, the blasts were caused by low-intensity crude bombs triggered by timers.

Bangalore is the information technology hub of India with more than 40% of the country's IT and software industry based there. India already suffered from a similar series of blasts in Jaipur, in May 2008.

CONTENTS

• The Bombings
• Casualties
• Reactions
• Impacts
• Investigations

The Bombings

It was initially reported that three blasts took place at around 1:30 PM IST. Later reports indicated that four low-intensity blasts occurred: One at Nayandahalli (1:30 PM IST), two in Madiwala (at 1:50 PM IST), and the last in Adugodi (2:10 PM). Other blasts were reported from areas including the Mallya hospital, Langford Road and Richmond Circle. The Madiwala blast took place at a check post, behind The Forum, a popular shopping mall in Bangalore.

It has been reported that gelatin sticks were used in the bombs. Police indicated that all bombs had timer devices attached to them and that mobile phones were used to trigger the bombs. The blasts were low-intensity but occurred in crowded areas.

• 1st blast: 1.20 pm, Madiwala bus depot
• 2nd blast: 1.25 pm, Mysore road
• 3rd blast: 1.40 pm, Adugudi
• 4th blast: 2.10 pm, Koramangala
• 5th blast: 2.25 pm, Vittal Mallya road
• 6th blast: 2.35 pm, Langford Town
• 7th blast: Richmond Town

There was another Bomb found on the 26th July 2008 in Bangalore near Koramangala Forum Mall which was defused successfully by the Bomb Detection Squad.

Casualties

Current reports indicate that two people have been killed and 20 injured.

One of the confirmed dead was a woman waiting at a bus shelter in Madiwala on the Hosur road; her husband and another person were seriously injured. The injured have been admitted to the St. Johns Hospital.

In response to the attack Prime Minister Singh sanctioned an ex gratia payment of Rs one lakh to the relatives of those dead and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the blasts.

Reactions

• The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the serial bomb blasts and urged people to remain calm and maintain communal harmony.
• Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S. Yeddyurappa stated, "It's a planned conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere and to try to create confusion among people. There is no need to panic. It's a planned conspiracy. I appeal to people to maintain calm."
• Leader of the opposition L. K. Advani said, "I strongly condemn the blasts in Bangalore, it is the latest in a long series of terrorist acts in various parts of the country...I also express my condolences to the families of those killed and injured in blasts."
• President Pratibha Patil condemned the blasts and expressed deep shock at the loss of lives at the IT capital saying it was aimed at disturbing peace in the country.
• Vice-President Hamid Ansari also condemned the blasts and said that such acts of terrorism were intended to disturb peace which should be thwarted through national resolves to maintain peace and harmony.
• AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa said: "In view of the serial blasts that have rocked the states in quick succession, I reiterate that, in order to defend and maintain the territorial integrity of the nation, a special act like POTA should be revived and allowed to remain in our statute books to effectively counter terrorists and extremist outfits...These dastardly acts of terrorists must be condemned by us in the strongest terms. I urge the central and state governments to make a thorough probe to nab the culprits. We must solemnly resolve to stand firm and united against such acts of mindless terror".
• A statement from the All India Muslim Forum said the group "strongly condemns the dastardly terrorist blasts at Banglore and Ahmedabad, claiming scores of innocent lives and injuring hundreds, and appeals to the people to maintain communal harmony in the face of these sinister moves which aim at tearing apart the country's social fabric."

Impacts

Calls by concerned and panicked citizens resulted in the telephone networks being jammed.Malls, schools and cinema halls across the city were shut down, and the police cordoned off the blast sites.

The effect of the blast on the Sensex was immediately visible with losses exceeding 3.5% reported on Friday after the Bangalore blasts. The 30-share BSE index was down 3.7%, or 529.28 points at 14,228.81, with 23 components in the red. The 50-issue NSE index was down 2.9 percent at 4,305.30.

The government has issued a statement that IT companies in Bangalore were not the target of the blast. Major IT companies based in Bangalore like Wipro and Infosys have reported no impact on their operations and all employees as safe. However, employees were urged to leave for home early.A new security plan for IT and other industries was announced by Minister for Home Affairs (India) Shivraj Patil immediately after the Bangalore serial blasts. Under the new amendment of law Central Industrial Security Force personnel could be used to safeguard private sector industries which till now was limited to public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Investigations

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Bangalore Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, termed the blasts "an act of miscreants" trying to disturb peace in the city. The Union Home Ministry of India named the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba and Students Islamic Movement of India, as the suspects.

The Bangalore Police said that attack "bore some hallmarks" of the Bangladesh-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI).

The Central Government of India had warned the Karnataka state government one day earlier that state was high on the terror hitlist along with six other Indian states  – Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab (India), and Assam – and Union Territory Delhi.

There is a possible connection with the Andhra and Varanasi attacks. An official was quoted as saying "The aim of these groups, whether HuJI or LeT or Simi, is clear. Bangalore and Hyderabad are being chosen as targets to create panic in the US as the cities house [the] biggest IT companies from the US." The Andhra – Karnataka link involves Raziuddin Nasir, a Hyderabad resident, and his aide Hafiz Khan Adnan from Bangalore, were arrested near Hubli in Karnataka this year. Furthermore, another clear link between the terror elements in both blasts is the explosive material used. In the Bangalore blasts an explosive with an ammonium nitrate base was used, while in the Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park explosions in Hyderabad a similar ammonium nitrate base was used. These were also of low intensity with the aim of creating panic. Like the Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts, it took place on a Friday during or just after the prayers. In response to these blasts security was also beefed up in Andhra Pradesh.

It was also reported that sleeper cells have gained a firm foothold in Karnataka with the discovery of terror camps in the Karnataka forest early in the year. In this vein, near-simultaneous blasts – all having the footprint of the jehadi network that had carried out blasts in Varanasi, Jaipur, Mumbai and elsewhere – point to the strong foothold terrorists have made in the city.

On 29th July, the Bangalore police Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a SIMI activist named Sameer Sadiq in connection with the blasts. According to the police, Sadiq had played a key role in the Surat riots. He was staying at Gurapanapalya in Bangalore, the area which incidentally housed the SIMI office before it had been banned.

On July 30, 2008, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) indicated that two men - Rasool Khan Parti and Mohammad Sufiya Ahmed Patangiya - currently living at Farahan Arcade Gulistan in Karachi were the masterminds behind the Ahmedabad and the Bangalore serial blasts. They used to reside in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Both are possibly members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. The Gujarat Police has been looking for them in connection to the murder of former Gujarat state minister Haren Pandya