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{{Short description|2005 Islamist terror attack in Delhi, India}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| motive = [[Islamic terrorism]]
| image = 2005 October 29 New Delhi Bomb blasts map.png
| caption = Delhi map showing the location of the bomb blasts: (1) Pahargunj, (2) Sarojini Nagar market, (3) Govindpuri
| title = 2005 Delhi bombings
| location = Delhi, India
| target = Two markets and a bus
| date = 29 October 2005
| time-begin = 5:38 pm
| time-end = 6:05 pm
| timezone = [[UTC]]+5.5
| type = [[Bomb]]ings
| fatalities = 62
| injuries = 210
| perps = [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] [[Indian Mujahideen]]
}}
{{Terrorist attacks in India (since 2001)}}
[[File:Delhi in India.png|thumb|right|India map showing Delhi|180px]]
The '''2005 Delhi bombings''' occurred on 29 October 2005 in [[Delhi]], India, killing 62 people and injuring at least 210 others<ref name="news24.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1826434,00.html |title=Delhi blasts death toll at 62 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105143402/http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0%2C%2C2-10-1462_1826434%2C00.html |archive-date=5 November 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in three explosions. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of [[Diwali]], which is celebrated by Indians. The bombs were triggered in two markets in central and south Delhi and in a bus south of the city. The Pakistani Islamist terrorist group [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] claimed responsibility for the attacks under the pseudonym of Islamic Inquilab Mahaz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Incident Summary for GTDID: 200510290001 |url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200510290001 |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=[[Global Terrorism Database]]}}</ref> The [[Indian Mujahideen]] is also suspected of involvement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Das |first=Shaswati |date=2018-04-19 |title=NIA arrests Indian Mujahideen operative Ariz Khan wanted in 2005 Delhi blasts case |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/6Filmx8MSCvrGDiALvMreN/NIA-arrests-Indian-Mujahideen-operative-Ariz-Khan-wanted-in.html |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref>

President [[A P J Abdul Kalam]] condemned the blasts in Delhi and sent condolences to the bereaved and other victims. Kalam appealed to the people "to maintain calm and help the agencies in relief and rescue work." Parts of India were moved to higher alert following the blasts.

==Timeline==

The blasts happened as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wits.nctc.gov/reports/crot2005nctcannexfinal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060707180516/http://wits.nctc.gov/reports/crot2005nctcannexfinal.pdf |archive-date=2006-07-07 |title=Report on Incidents of Terrorism 2005 |date=11 April 2006 }}</ref>

*The first blast took place in the main bazaar of [[Paharganj]] near the New Delhi Railway Station at around 5:38 pm ([[UTC+05:30]]).
*The second blast took place near a bus in Govindpuri area at 6:00 pm (IST)<nowiki>*</nowiki> in the southern part of the city.
*Within minutes of the second explosion, at 6:05 pm (IST)<nowiki>*</nowiki>, the third explosion took place in South Delhi's busy [[Sarojini Nagar]] market.

===Modus operandi and suspects===
* The first explosion (Paharganj explosion) occurred outside New Delhi Railway Station. The explosive device was planted in a ''two-wheeler'' (generic term used in India for any motorised vehicle with two wheels, such as a motorcycle or a [[motorscooter]]). When the bomb exploded, it ripped apart the ''M S Medicos'', a medical shop outside which the two-wheeler was parked. According to Rediff.com the shop was badly damaged with glass strewn all over the street and blood splattered all over the ground. When the explosion took place large number of people were eating ''[[golgappa]]s'' in the adjoining snacks-cum-sweet shop resulting in the high number of deaths in the area.
*The Govindpuri explosion, which took place inside a bus, injured nine people, four critically. 35–40 people were travelling in the bus when the conductor of the bus spotted a suspicious plastic bag which none of the passengers claimed. The passengers were already suspicious as a man had climbed aboard the bus and refused to buy a ticket, according to the BBC, leaving his large, black bag aboard. The driver and conductor of the bus quickly alerted and disembarked the passengers and, by doing so, minimised the damage when the bomb was thrown out of a window. At the time of the explosion, only five people remained inside the bus. However, the driver and conductor sustained injuries in their rescue effort, and the driver's condition was critical according to NDTV. According to the Indian police, the Govindpuri bomb operated on an [[electronic timer]].
*The third and most devastating explosion took place in a very crowded corner of the busy [[Sarojini Nagar]] market. According to [[The Hindu]] website, the eyewitnesses claim that the bomb was placed in a white colour [[Maruti Suzuki|Maruti]] van whose front and rear mirrors were shattered due to the explosion. The bomb went off near a vendor using a gas cylinder, which exploded, triggering multiple explosions and leading to an outbreak of fire in a row of shops. Apart from resulting in the death of 43 people and injuring about another 28 people, half-a-dozen clothing shops and a few vehicles parked behind these shops were destroyed due to this explosion.
* It is believed that the explosive used to carry out the blasts is [[RDX]].
* It is also believed that the blasts were connected to [[Quds Day]], on Friday, October 28, 2005, which creates terror worldwide, against [[Israel]] and [[United States]]. To mark the [[Jumu'atul-Wida]], which is the last Friday of [[Ramadan]], as Al-Quds Day, was initiated by [[Iran]]ian spiritual leader [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], in 1979 to support [[Palestinians|Palestine]] Muslims.<ref>[https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/a-chilling-reminder/229055 Delhi Blasts, A Chilling Reminder, Karachi: Rally held to mark Al-Quds Day][https://www.dawn.com/news/163368/karachi-rally-held-to-mark-al-quds-day]
</ref>

==Suspects==
The Pakistan-based [[Islamist terrorist]] group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility on a jihadist website, through the name of "Islamic Inquilab Mahaz" (Islamic Revolutionary Front). It had previously carried out similar attacks in Karachi using the same name.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Majumder |first=Sanjoy |date=October 31, 2005 |title=Who is behind the Delhi bombings? |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=[[Delhi]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4390460.stm |access-date=December 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 31, 2005 |title=Group Says It Staged Indian Blasts |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/30/AR2005103000900.html |accessdate=December 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=15 November 2005 |title=Delhi Metro was in LeT's cross-hairs |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118194110/http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm |archive-date=18 January 2012 |access-date=17 December 2011 |work=Rediff.com}}</ref>

The [[Delhi]] Police released three sketches of one of the suspected bombers involved in the bombings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Delhiblasts&slug=Delhi+blasts%3A+Sketches+of+suspect+released&id=18090&callid=0&category=National |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720054932/http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Delhiblasts&slug=Delhi%2Bblasts%3A%2BSketches%2Bof%2Bsuspect%2Breleased&id=18090&callid=0&category=National |archive-date=20 July 2006 |title=Delhi blasts: Cops release sketches of suspect |url-status=dead }}</ref>
According to NDTV, ten suspects have been detained following the blasts. Five of them were picked up from the Delhi Railway station and others from other railway stations and bus terminals.

Tariq Ahmad Dar, was arrested in Kashmir, as the alleged suspect of the attacks on 10 November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/13dblast.htm |title=Delhi blast suspect arrested in Kashmir |work=Rediff.com |date=31 December 2004 |access-date=30 March 2012}}</ref> The police also arrested the suspected Govindpuri bomber, Mohammed Rafiq Shah.<ref>"2005 blasts: Court seeks accused's call records". ''The Hindustan Times'', 29 October 2007.</ref> They were freed in Feb 2017 for lack of evidence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/12-years-a-prisoner-man-freed-in-delhi-blast-case-says-i-feel-lucky-1660571|title = 12 Years a Prisoner, Man Freed in Delhi Blast Case Says 'I Feel Lucky'}}</ref>

==Casualties==

Thirty eight people were declared dead in Safdarjang hospital, ten in Lady Hardinge Hospital, five in Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and two in [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences|AIIMS]]. The number of fatalities later rose to 62, with about 210 injured.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 250px; font-size: 95%; float: right;"
|+ 29 October 2005 casualties
|-
! Place
! Deaths
! Injured
! Sources
|-
| Pahargunj blast
| 18 || 60 || [http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/30delhi4.htm (Rediff)]
|-
| Sarojini Nagar market blast
| 43 || 28 || [http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/30delhi4.htm (Rediff)]
|-
| Govindpuri blast
| 0 || 4 || [http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/30delhi4.htm (Rediff)]
|- style="background: #E9E9E9;"
||'''Total'''
|| '''61''' || style="background: #E9E9E9;" | '''92''' || style="background: #E9E9E9;" |
|}

==Rescue and relief operations==
Relatives of the dead and injured received money and medical help from the government:
*"[[Rupee|Rs]] 300,000 will be given as [[ex-gratia]] to next of the kin of every dead person, while those seriously injured will get Rs 50,000," Delhi Chief Minister [[Sheila Dikshit]] told reporters.
*The injured received free treatment at any government hospital.

==Reactions==

Delhi police ordered all temples and restaurants in Delhi closed shortly after the explosions, and the city of Delhi went on [[wikt:red alert|red alert]].

===Bomb hoaxes===

At least two phone calls reporting fake bombs have been received by the Delhi police, including a false report of a bomb in a school (or a fair) for people with visual disabilities. In addition, there was a phone call reporting a (purportedly fake) bomb near a bank in [[Khari Baoli]] before the attacks occurred; the object referred to by the call was a suitcase, in which there were documents, batteries, and wires. In the midst of the attacks, there was another [[hoax]] call reporting a bomb going off in the [[Gole Market]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2005 |title=Breaking News |url=http://www.newindpress.com/newsItems.asp?id=IEL20051030095500&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&rLink=-429 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092242/http://www.newindpress.com/newsItems.asp?id=IEL20051030095500&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&rLink=-429 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |website=[[New Indian Express]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57544 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216045825/http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57544 |archive-date=2005-12-16 |title=2 hours before blast, false alarm at Khari Baoli}}</ref>

The Delhi police, after the explosions, sent out messages to the public asking them to report unidentified objects. This led to a wave of reports of "bombs", all of which proved to be either nonexistent or more benign objects, including a "bomb" at the Som Bazaar in eastern Delhi and another "bomb" near the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.

==World reaction==
The bombings have provoked strong international condemnation from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Iran, UAE, European Union, Bangladesh, Maldives, and South Africa.

==See also==
* [[1993 Mumbai bombings]]
* [[List of terrorist incidents]]
* [[Allegations of state terrorism committed by Pakistan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200510290001 Incident Summary] at the [[Global Terrorism Database]].
*[https://archive.today/20130126065043/http://www.indiatwo.com/travel/Delhi-Blasts Serial Blasts in Delhi] . 13 September 2008. ''indiatwo.com''.
*[http://202.54.124.133/news/2006/oct/20spec.htm How the Delhi blasts case was cracked]. 20 October 2006.{{Dead link|date=September 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
*[http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Terrorstrikes&slug=Serial+blasts+rock+Delhi%2C+nearly+50+dead&id=18069&callid=0&category=National Serial blasts rock Delhi, nearly 50 dead]. ''[[NDTV]]''.
*[http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/29/india.explosion/index.html India explosions]. 29 October 2005. ''[[CNN Asia Pacific]]''.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713025259/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-10-31/india/27834851_1_serial-blasts-sleeper-cells-terror Editorial: Serial blasts, sleeper cells and terror]. 31 October 2005. ''[[Times of India]]''.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051031042552/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9859307 Video report]. ''[[MSNBC]]''.
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4388292.stm News]. [[BBC India|''BBC Delhi'']].
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4389586.stm News update]. ''[[BBC India]]''.

{{War on Terrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delhi}}
{{Islamic terrorism in Asia}}
[[Category:21st-century mass murders in India]]
[[Category:2005 mass murders]]
[[Category:October 2005 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2005]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in India]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in India]]
[[Category:Marketplace attacks in India]]
[[Category:Murder in Delhi]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2005]]
[[Category:Building bombings in India]]
[[Category:2000s in Delhi]]
[[Category:Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks]]
[[Category:Indian Mujahideen attacks]]
[[Category:2005 murders in India]]
[[Category:Anti-Hindu violence in India]]
[[Category:October 2005 in India]]
[[Category:Bus bombings in India]]
[[Category:2005 building bombings]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in 2005]]

2005 Delhi bombings - Revision history

BonnieKoontz at 10:16, 14 December 2025