37 killed, over 100 hurt in Malegaon blasts
The Hindu, September 8, 2006

Malegaon, Sept. 8 (PTI): Terrorists struck again in Maharashtra today, killing at least 37 people and injuring over 100 in three blasts including one in a mosque in this communally sensitive Muslim-dominated town.

The blasts occurred just before 2 p.m. at three different places, nearly simultaneously, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Scores of people were gathered in a mosque-cum-graveyard at Friday prayer time were among the casualties.

Malegaon, which has a history of communal violence, was under curfew tonight as the Centre and the State Government rushed paramilitary forces to deal with the situation officially described as tense but under control.

Today's explosions come less than two months after train blasts in Mumbai killed nearly 200 people on July 11. They occurred only four days prior to the verdict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case due on Tuesday.

Besides the mosque-cum-graveyard where people had come to pray for the dead on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, the blasts also rocked the busy Mushaira Chowk and Ayesha Nagar locality.

Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, who visited the blast sites, said 37 people were killed in the three explosions.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil did not rule out the possibility of terrorist hand behind the blast. "Such incidents do not take place on their own. Someone triggers it. We all know who they are," he said in Delhi.

A near-stampede broke out immediately after the blasts as devotees, including children, rushed out of the narrow gate in panic with many of them trampling over the dead bodies and those seriously injured.

Local administration officials said over 100 people injured in the blasts were rushed to the Wadia hospital and other hospitals in the town while some of the seriously wounded were moved to Nashik, about 100 km from here, for treatment.

The whole area was splattered with blood and limbs. The devotees also helped the injured rush to nearby hospitals on every available mode of transport including push carts.

President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi condemned the blasts and asked the people to maintain communal harmony.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who is rushing here tomorrow, said the "bigger design" of those behind the blasts in Malegaon of Maharashtra is to see that different sections of the society clash and create more turmoil.

Maharashtra DGP P S Pasricha said it was too early to link the Malegaon blasts with the Mumbai serial bomb blasts of July 11 or the earlier explosions at Nanded and Parbhani last year.

He appealed to the people of Maharashtra to be more alert and vigilant to avert such incidents.

Meanwhile, mobile networks remained jammed in Malegaon and Nasik, similar to the situation that developed after the blasts on July 11. Communication amongst senior police officers became difficult due to the jammed networks.

Union Home Secretary V K Duggal said in Delhi it was too premature to say about the blast material but initial reports suggested that the explosive at Mushaira Chowk was tied to a bicycle.

Another report suggests that a beggar girl was carrying a tin which perhaps contained some explosives, he said.

Some reports said that the bomb which went off at the mosque was kept in a bouquet.

A team of the National Bomb Data Centre of the elite National Security Guard had been rushed to the spot to confirm the nature of explosives used.

Although there was deployment of paramilitary forces in strength in the town owing to the recently concluded Ganesh festival and today's `Shab-e-barat' ceremony, police found it difficult to reach the site of the blasts.

Angry residents pelted stones on policemen and prevented them from reaching the blasts site while a mob of nearly 500 persons laid a siege of Azadnagar police station.

Police fired in the air to disperse the mob which damaged some police vehicles, sources said.

No group has taken responsibility for the blasts that took place nearly two months after the series of explosions in trains in Mumbai on July 11 that left close to 200 people dead.

The Centre rushed over 3000 jawans of the CRPF and Rapid Action Forces besides over 500 personnel of Special Reserve Police to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

Nation put on high alert

The nation was today placed under high alert in the wake of the deadly serial blasts in Malegaon to check outbreak of communal tension and thwart fresh attacks.

Hours after terrorists struck the Muslim-dominated town in Maharashtra, the Union Home Ministry shot off a "detailed advisory" to all the states reminding them about the potential of such incidents "being exploited".

Security was stepped up at sensitive places around the country, including high-profile places of worship like Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the old city in the national capital and western metropolis Mumbai.

Additional police personnel were deployed in and around Jama Masjid and localities like Chandni Chowk in Central Delhi as hundreds thronged the area on the occasion of Shab-e-barat, considered the holiest night under Islam.

Security has been beefed up at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Akshardam Temple and ISKCON temple in Delhi, where a tight vigil is also being maintained at crowded places including railway and bus stations, cinema halls and market places.

In Maharashtra, police have sealed all entry and exit points and tightened security at Siddhivinayak temple and Haji Ali in Mumbai, which has seen a wave of terror attacks barely two months ago.

The West Bengal government alerted all districts and directed the police and para-military forces to launch extensive patrolling in sensitive areas and step up security.

Security was also stepped up in sensitive places in Maharashtra's neighbouring states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.