No full stops in the blood trails

Over 30 terror strikes in different parts of the country, since 2001, none in the US since 9/11, which also happened in 2001. In fact, Uncle Sam has averted as many as 45 attacks

Terror returned to Hyderabad after five years. And, the needle of suspicion pointed to a familiar suspect: Indian Mujahideen. The modus operandi — bombs on bicycles and choice of locations — pointed to the IM. Is India a soft state -- one in which you can’t expect anything better? You may not like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for what happened in Godhra in 2002, but even his detractors will concede that the state under his care is not an easy target that will so spinelessly be beaten down by the action of terrorists, who seem to strike at will. 

 

The eradication of terrorism is now India’s first priority; and people who are not up to this mission have no right to claim the faith of the people. The political class has to wake up to the danger, and to their responsibilities, and bring about a change in their attitudes and even to the system. At present, political heavyweights who are in power or in-waiting to grab power seem to be not seriously interested in the abolition of terror in India.

 

In 1984, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declined to discuss or release Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) prisoners including its founder Maqbool Butt, then lodged in Tihar, in exchange for senior Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre who had been abducted in England. The terrorists killed Mhatre and Maqbool Butt was hanged in a few days when his clemency petition was rejected. 

 

However, in 1989 Prime Minister  Vishwanath Pratap Singh released five terrorists from prison in order to secure the release of the then home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s abducted daughter Rubaiya Sayeed. Almost, ten years later, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National  Democratic Alliance (NDA) government released three terrorists following the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar. 

 

India had intelligence warnings of a security threat several days before two bicycle bombs ripped through a market in Hyderabad, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said. The moot question is: what was the state machinery doing?  Media reports quoting sources said a general alert was issued for two consecutive days from February 19 to all major cities, suggesting a possible attack by Pakistan-based terror groups to avenge the hangings of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The blasts come less than two weeks after India hanged Guru. The death toll in the twin blasts rose to 16 with two more persons succumbing to injuries in a hospital. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced ex-gratia of Rs 6 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000-1,00,000 for the injued. How long we as nation will survive on borrowed time?  It is high time India must get a  concrete reply as the parliament session is on.

Here’s a quick recap of the most infamous terrorists attacks since 2001
1) Srinagar: October 1, 2001: Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorsis attack Jammu & Kashmir Assembly complex, killing about 35.

2) New Delhi: December 13, 2001: A handful of terrorists stormed the gates of Parliament, turning the precincts into a battlefield for close to an hour. Four terrorists were killed in the gunbattle with the guards and one was blown off by explosives strapped around his body. Six guards and a gardener died in the exchange of fire and at least 14 were injured.

3) Srinagar: May 14, 2002: At least thirty-three persons were killed when heavily armed militants opened indiscriminate fire in a Himachal Roadways bus and later stormed an army camp at Kalu Chak on the Jammu-Pathankote highway.

4) Gandhinagar: September 24, 2002: A group of gunmen opened fire on devotees before the evening aarti at the Swaminarayan temple, killing over 30 people. Armed with AK-47 rifles, terrorists in military had jumped over the VIP gate into the complex and opened fire.

5) Mumbai: March 14, 2003: A powerful blast ripped through the first class ladies’ compartment of a local train, killing 10 women on the spot and injuring around 70 others.

6) Mumbai: August 25, 2003: Two blasts within five minutes of each other left 52 people dead. The explosion sites chosen with care by the attackers who set off car bombs, first at Zaveri Bazaar, the bullion market, and then in front of the Gateway of India, the symbol of welcome to foreign visitors.

7) Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh): July 05, 2005: Six heavily armed terrorists, who made an attempt to storm the high-security makeshift Ram temple were killed before they could make it to the shrine. The attackers came in a car at around 0900 am, following an explosive-laden jeep, which they rammed into the security barricade to breach the cordon.

8) New Delhi: October 29, 2005: Bombs ripped through three markets packed with families shopping for Diwali and Id, killing over 50 people and wounding many more.

9) Varanasi: March 07, 2006: A series of bombings killed at least 28 and injured 101 others. The first explosion occurred in the packed Sankat Mochan temple near Benaras Hindu University. Two other explosions rocked the Cantonment railway station ' one inside the stationary Shivganga Express bound for Delhi and another in a waiting hall.

10) Mumbai: July 11, 2006: Seven blasts rocked suburban trains in Mumbai. Around 174 passengers have been killed and more than 300 were wounded. The blasts took place in a span of 30 minutes in first class compartments of suburban trains.

11) Malegaon: September 08, 2006: Approximately, 35 people were killed and over 100 were injured in multiple powerful explosions. First, there was a blast around 1.50 pm in the mosque-cum-graveyard Bada Kabrastan in this textile city, 260 km from Mumbai. Almost at the same time, there was a second at Mushaira Chowk.

12) Samjhauta Express: February 19, 2007: Two bombs exploded aboard a train bound from India to Pakistan, sparking a fire that killed at least 66 passengers.

13) Hyderabad: May 19, 2007: A powerful crude bomb exploded during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Mosque, killing 13 people and injuring 30 others, including two children.

14) Hyderabad: August 25, 2007: At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured as two powerful bombs went off almost simultaneously at an amusement park and a popular eatery in the heart of the city.

15) Ajmer: October 11, 2007: Terror struck the highly reverred Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi when a bomb went off inside the complex killing three persons and injuring 28 others.

16) Lucknow: November 23, 2007: Terror struck Uttar Pradesh when terrorists triggered near-simultaneous blasts in court premises in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow killing 15 people, four of them lawyers, and injuring over 80.

17) Rampur (Uttar Pradesh): January 01, 2008: Seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were among eight persons killed and five injured when heavily-armed terrorists stormed a camp of the paramilitary force.  After carrying out the audacious attack at the CRPF recruitment centre, all the four suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists managed to escape.

18) Jaipur: May 14, 2008: Eight blasts ripped through bustling crowds in the Pink city in a span of 20 minutes, killing up to 60 people, including children and a just-married bride, and injuring over 200.

19) Bangalore: July 25, 2008: At least three people were killed and 20 injured in seven serial blasts. The blasts took place between 2.30 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. at the Madivala bus stop, Hossur road, Adugudi, Koramangla, Mysore Road and Nayadahalli.

20) Ahmedabad: July 26, 2008: Twenty small bombs killed at least 59 people in 15 minutes, including 10 inside a hospital. The first blast occurred minutes after police received an email from an outfit that called itself the Indian Mujahideen. It warned of serial explosions, challenged the force to “stop us if you can”, and claimed this was revenge for the post-Godhra riots.

21) New Delhi: September 13, 2008: Five synchronised bomb blasts ripped through crowded markets across the Capital, killing more than 25 people and wounding at least 90 others.

22) New Delhi: September 27, 2008:  A bomb ripped through a crowded market Mehrauli , killing three persons and wounding 15 others.

23) Imphal: October 21 2008: At least 17 people were killed in one of the most powerful blasts, just two days after a grenade exploded near the office of Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

24) Assam: October 30 2008: Nine explosions shook Guwahati, leaving 75 dead and over 300 injured. Police and ministers pointed fingers at the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (Huji) but suspected that the state’s chief separatist insurgent outfit, Ulfa, lent a hand.

25) Mumbai: November 26, 2008: Around 170 people were killed and 315 wounded by 10 Pakistani terrorist in a three-day rampage through some of the Maximum City’s best-known landmarks, including two luxury hotels – the Taj Mahal hotel and the Oberoi-Trident  -- and a Jewish centre in  in Colaba frequented by Israeli visitors.

26) Malegaon & Modasa: September 29, 2008: Back-to-back blasts killed at least six persons in Muslim-dominated towns of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Both bombs were placed on motorcycles parked in crowded areas days before Eid and set off after Muslims had broken their Ramzan fast.

27) Pune: February 13, 2010: At least nine people were killed and 57 others injured in a bomb attack at a  popular Pune café. The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.

28) New Delhi:  September 19, 2010: Two Taiwanese tourists were injured when two men on a motorcycle fired several rounds on a tourist vehicle near Jama Masjid.

29) Bangalore: April 17, 2010: At least 15 people were wounded when two bombs exploded outside a packed cricket stadium. The blasts blew off portions of an outer wall of the stadium, packed with people who had come to watch a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

30) Mumbai: July 13, 2011: Terror struck Mumbai again when three bomb blasts rocked some of the most crowded places of the city killing at least 17 people and injuring 131 others. The first blast took place at 6:54 pm at south Mumbai's crowded Zaveri Bazaar. Within a few minutes Opera House and Dadar, too, were hit by powerful explosions.

31) New Delhi:  September 07, 2011: A briefcase bomb killed 11 persons and wounded 76 in the reception room of Delhi High Court. The blast occurred around 10:15 am outside Gate Number 5 close to the reception area where visitors had lined up for entry passes.
32) Hyderabad: 21 February, 2103: As many as 11 people were killed and 84 injured as two simultaneous bomb blasts rocked the busy Dilsukhnagar.