On a peaceful usual evening of July 11, 2006, Mumbai’s commuter train system witnessed a series of bomb attacks. The rush was at its peak; hence, the attack left more than 200 people dead and over 800 injured severely. Within the span of 11 minutes, as many as seven blasts ripped the suburban train compartments.
July 11, 2023, marked the sixteenth anniversary of the dreadful incident. The attacks were meticulously planned and executed by terrorist organisations with links in Pakistan, primarily Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In the series of attacks, the Islamists targeted a busy area at the heart of the town to spread terror and send shockwaves across the city.
A brief timeline of the attack
At 6:24 pm, a train travelling north from Churchgate was attacked between Khar Road and Santacruz, the carriage type was first class. In this, as many as 9 people lost their lives.
Another bomb exploded in a first-class carriage between Bandra and Khar Road at 6:24 pm. The train was 17:50 Fast Local from Churchgate to Borivali, following this attack as many as 22 people lost their lives.
Another explosion took place at Jogeshwari (platform number 1) at around 18:25 pm. The attackers chose the 17:37 Slow Local train from Churchgate to Borivali, the carriage targetted was the first class compartment. The attack left as many as 28 people dead.
The next explosion occurred at the Mahim Junction’s platform number 3, around 16:26 pm. The train was 17:54 Fast Local from Churchgate to Borivali, it left as many as 43 people dead.
In another blast, a train travelling north from Churchgate was targeted between Mira Road and Bhayandar at around 6:29 pm. The attack left as many as 31 people dead.
Another first-class compartment of the 17:57 Fast Local train from Churchgate to Virar was targeted by the attackers, the explosion occurred at around 6:30 pm and left as many as 28 dead.
The last attack took place at 6:25 pm at Borivali, the first class compartment of the 17:37 Fast Local train from Churchgate to Virar was attacked which left as many as 26 dead.
Within 11 minutes, 206 people lost their lives and over 714 people were reportedly injured.
A lot has happened since the attack happened from arrests to the inquiry as many as 12 Muslims were found guilty of the attacks. The attackers were said to be part of several different Islamic terror groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba (Pakistan), the local Students Islamic Movement of India, and the Indian Mujahideen.
The court sentenced 12 out of 13 arrested accused namely Kamal Ansari, Faisal Shaikh, Estesham Siddiqui, Naveed Khan and Asif Bashir Khan to death. Whereas, seven others – Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Majid Shafi, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Muzzammil Shaikh, Zamir Shaikh and Sohail Shaikh – were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court acquitted one of the accused.
A list of events that followed the attacks
July 11, 2006: Between 6.20 pm and 6.35 pm, seven RDX bombs ripped the first-class compartments of Mumbai local trains in different areas.
July 14, 2006: Terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Qahhar, an organisation with links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the bombings through an e-mail to an Indian TV channel.
July 17, 2006: The Mumbai forensic science laboratory said highly explosive RDX and Ammonium Nitrate were used for the bombings. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the bombs were assembled in Chembur. They were stuffed inside pressure cookers.
July 18, 2006: A week after the blast, a memorial service was held in Mumbai to pay tribute to the victims. Sirens were sounded across Mumbai in homage to those who lost their lives, while then President Abdul Kalam led people into observing a two-minute silence.
July 21, 2006: The police arrested three persons in connection with the bombings.
November 2006: The ATS filed a chargesheet in which 13 of those subsequently arrested and 15 abscondings were named as the accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA).
June 2007: Those who were accused of the train bombings moved to the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutional validity of MCOCA. The following year, the SC ordered a stay on the trial.
September 2008: Five Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives were arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch. Contradiction in the probe by the crime branch and the ATS started to show when the crime branch said IM carried out the bombings, while the ATS said Pakistani nationals planted the bombs.
February 2009: Arrested leader of the Indian Mujahideen Sadiq Sheikh confessed to conducting the bombings in a news channel broadcast.
February 2010: Lawyer Shahid Azmi, who defended some of the accused in the Mumbai blast case, was shot dead in his central Mumbai office.
August 2013: Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of IM, who was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border, claimed the 2006 bombings were done by IM in response to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
August 2014: The court concluded the Mumbai blasts trial but reserved its judgment.
September 2015: The MCOCA court convicted 12 of the 13 arrested in the case. The court sentenced five convicts – Kamal Ansari, Faisal Shaikh, Estesham Siddiqui, Naveed Khan and Asif Bashir Khan – to death. Seven others – Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Majid Shafi, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Muzzammil Shaikh, Zamir Shaikh and Sohail Shaikh – were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court acquitted one of the accused.
Analysing the reasons behind the attack
Recently, director and filmmaker, Sanjay Puran Singh Chouhan’s film 72 Hoorain was released in theatres, the film’s plot revolves around the idea of Jannat and Jahannum through which Islamists are lured to the world of terrorism.
While digging for the reasons behind the terror attacks, we found many but the first and foremost remained the idea of Jihad and the attainment of Jannat by killing non-Muslims, alias Kaffirs.
Jannat and 72 Hoorain: The terrorists would have opted for the path of terror to reach Jannat and get 72 Hoorain, the idea could have been to spread Jihad, through violence, as was common in the early twenties.
For Kashmir: The attackers however accepted that with Mumbai 2006 blasts they have avenged the deaths of their community people in the violence of Gujarat 2002. But the second motive could have been, the extension of Pakistan from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the Indian side of Kashmir.
Regional Tensions: The attacks also occurred within the broader context of historical tensions between India and Pakistan.
Symbolic Target: The choice of Mumbai’s local train network as a target was significant. The trains are an integral part of the city’s infrastructure, carrying millions of commuters daily. By attacking a crowded and vulnerable public transportation system, the perpetrators aimed to maximize casualties, generate widespread panic and disrupt daily life in one of India’s major economic and cultural hubs.
The Mumbai terror attacks highlighted the need for enhanced security and counterterrorism measures in India. In the aftermath of the attacks, several initiatives were undertaken to strengthen the country’s security apparatus and improve its ability to prevent and respond to such incidents.
Some of them include; Upgrading Infrastructure, Building Specialised Counter-Terrorism Units, Intelligence-driven Operations, Public Awareness and Vigilance, Legislative Reforms, installations of detectors and others. The current Modi-led NDA Government in the Centre have been able to arrest border terrorism and the number of attacks be it in Mumbai, Kashmir or any other part of the country has significantly dropped.
If we go by the statistics, between 2004 and 2013 (UPA’s 10-year rule), there were 9,321 terror strikes with 4,005 terrorists killed and another 878 nabbed. Whereas, From 2014 till August 2022 (NDA’s eight-and-half years’ regime), there were 2,132 terror incidents with 1,538 terrorists eliminated and 1,432 arrested.
From 2014 to date, India has not witnessed any terror attacks leading to the death of common people across the country.
