Six blasts in 3 spots kill 20, injure 100

NEW DELHI: Multiple bomb blasts ripped through the capital on Saturday evening, killing at least 20 people and injuring about 100. Its remarkable similarity with recent bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and Jaipur was yet again a slap on the faces of Indian investigators who claim to have busted the domestic face of terror.

A detailed and aggressive mail from the Indian Mujahideen, the faceless entity that has claimed responsibility for most of the recent blasts, landed in media houses minutes before the warm weekend turned gory in Delhi.

The mail clearly shows that Indian investigators have failed to track down this sophisticated network of local terrorists, even if they are part of the very same SIMI network. “There is no doubt that the Safadar Nagori faction of SIMI is behind this blast too,” a senior intelligence officer said within minutes of the blasts. He said they are taking a close look at the visit of Mufti Abu Basheer, a key suspect in the Ahmedabad blasts, in the last week of July to Delhi.

Across the capital, terror and panic began at 6.15pm, when the first of six bombs went off in the crowded Gaffar Market of Karol Bagh. At least 30 people were injured in the blast, and the show-windows of the famed electronics market, and windscreens of several cars were cracked and painted in blood.

Hundreds of shoppers, many injured, others in panic, ran amok in the crowded bazaar, and the police groped in the dark for almost 30 minutes to ascertain if it was a bomb.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, five other bombs went off, killing and injuring many more. As the injured were rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, fear was palpable of a possible bomb blast in its premises, a repeat of what happened in Ahmedabad. The police cordoned off the hospital for a long time.

The first of two blasts in Connaught Place took place in front of the metro station on Barakhamba Road. The bomb kept in a dustbin killed at least two people. A 12-year-old street hawker said he saw two men dump the bombs in the dustbin. A four-wheel cart near the dustbin selling bottled water and aerated drinks was damaged beyond recognition, and its owner seriously injured. In the crowded metro station down below, people said they heard a “deafening explosion.”

Within ten seconds of the first blast in Connaught Place, the second and third bombs went off in the central park of the market, a circular shopping complex built by the British. Most of the underground portion of the Central Park is occupied by India’s biggest metro station, Rajiv Chowk, while the rest is underground market Palika Bazaar.

In South Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash M-Block market, two blasts, within few minutes of each other, injured at least five people and shattered windowpanes of several shops. Here probably also lies credible inputs for investigators to track the bombers. The market has a very efficient CCTV network, and the bomb was planted right in front of a camera.

All the blasts had taken place within 45 minutes of the Gaffar Market blast. City police commissioner YS Dadwal said, the bombs were “all low intensity blasts set off from crude bombs filled with shrapnel. The blasts obviously targetted shopping areas considering it was a Saturday evening and markets are crowded on weekends.”

The tragedy could have been worse: Police and Army’s bomb disposal teams were able to recover four live bombs before they went off — one each from near India Gate and Children’s Park on the India Gate lawns, and two near the historic Regal cinema. In fact the Indian Mujahideen email speaks of nine blasts. As the bombs went off, the Capital city plunged into panic and pandemonium.

Police evacuated the Sarojini Nagar market within minutes, fearing the repeat of October 29, 2005, when the over 50 people were killed in a high intensity bomb blast there. The metro service was suspended, fearing further trouble. The Union government alerted all the states and Union territories to be on high alert. Especially on alert were metros such as Mumbai. The Prime Minister condemned the blasts and called for calm, while the BJP criticised the Prime Minister as a failure.