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{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar twin blasts
| partof =
| image =
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| location = [[Mumbai]], [[India]]
| target =
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| date = 25 August 2003<ref name="th"/>
| time =
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| type = [[Car bomb]]ing
| fatalities = 52<ref name="HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case "/>
| injuries = 300<ref name="HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case "/>
| victim =
| perps = Mohammed Haneef Sayed, his wife Fahmeeda Sayed and Ashrat Ansari – operatives of [[Lashkar-e-Toiba]] (LeT)<ref name="HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case "/>
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}}

{{Terrorist attacks in India (since 2001)}}
{{Campaignbox Mumbai terrorism}}

The '''25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings''' were twin [[car bombings]] in the Indian city of [[Mumbai]] that killed 54, and injured 244 people.<ref name="th">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/07/stories/2009080757860100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809143518/http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/07/stories/2009080757860100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 August 2009|title=Death for three in 2003 Mumbai bomb blasts case |date= 7 August 2009|access-date=7 August 2009|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> One of the bomb explosions took place at the [[Gateway of India]], which is a major tourist attraction. The other bomb went off in a jewellery market [[Zaveri Bazaar]] near the [[Mumba Devi temple]] in central Mumbai. Both the bombs were planted in parked [[taxicab|taxi]]s and exploded during the lunch hour. No group initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but [[Pakistan]]-based [[Lashkar-e-Toiba]] was blamed for it.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/25/newsid_3921000/3921475.stm|title=2003: Bombay rocked by twin car bombs|publisher=BBC|access-date=7 August 2009 | date=25 August 2003}}</ref>

On 31 August 2003, three suspects – Ashrat Ansari, Haneef Sayyed and his wife Fahmeeda were arrested. All three were convicted and sentenced to death in August, 2009 by a special [[Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002|POTA]] court in Mumbai. Later, the death sentence was upheld by [[Bombay High Court]] in February 2012.<ref name="HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case ">{{cite news | url=http://dailypioneer.com/nation/41727-hc-upholds-death-for-let-men-in-twin-blasts-case.html | title=HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case | date=10 February 2012 | access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="Death sentence upheld in Mumbai blasts case">{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2879449.ece | title=Death sentence upheld in Mumbai blasts case | date=10 February 2012 | access-date=10 February 2012 | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu}}</ref> Haneef was recruited in [[Dubai]], UAE by Pakistani nationals to avenge anti-Muslim riots in India. His wife assisted and chose targets, while Ansari planted the bomb at Zaveri Bazar.<ref name="th" /><ref name="TOI">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Three-get-death-for-Gateway-Zaveri-Bazar-blasts/articleshow/4865138.cms|title=Three get death for Gateway, Zaveri Bazar blasts|date=7 August 2009|work=The Times of India |access-date=7 August 2009}}</ref>

Haneef Sayyed died in February 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nagpurtoday.in/hanif-syed-sentenced-to-death-in-2003-mumbai-blasts-dies/02111009,%20https://www.nagpurtoday.in/hanif-syed-sentenced-to-death-in-2003-mumbai-blasts-dies/02111009|title=Hanif Syed, sentenced to death in 2003 Mumbai blasts, dies|first=Nagpur|last=News|website=nagpurtoday.in}}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Chronology of events ==
''<small>As per rediff.com</small>''<ref name="A chronology of the 2003 Mumbai twin blasts case">{{cite news|url=http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/27/a-chronology-of-the-2003-mumbai-twin-blasts-case.htm|title=A chronology of the 2003 Mumbai twin blasts case|date=27 July 2009|publisher=Rediff.com|access-date=6 August 2009}}</ref>
*25 August 2003: Twin blasts occur at [[Zaveri Bazaar]] and Gateway of India in south Mumbai. Around 52 people are killed and over 100 injured.
*31 August 2003: [[Mumbai Police]] arrests three accused Ashrat Ansari (age 32), Hanif Sayed (age 46) and his wife Fehmida Sayed (age 43).
*1 October 2003: Two more accused, Mohammed Ansari Ladoowala and Mohammed Hasan Batterywala are held.
*5 February 2004: Police files chargesheet against six accused in the case as per [[Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act]] in court. Accused also alleged to have been involved in placing an unexploded bomb in a bus at [[SEEPZ]] in suburban Andheri on 2 December 2002 and placing bomb in bus at [[Ghatkopar]] on 8 July 2003 in which two persons were killed.
*20 June 2004: Charges are framed against five accused. One is left off.
*2 September 2004: Trial begins officially in court.
*December 2008—Ladoowala and Batterywala are discharged from the case by POTA court. Later [[Supreme Court of India]] also upholds POTA review committee report stating no charges hold ground against them.
*27 July 2009: Three accused Ashrat Ansari, Hanif Sayed and his wife Fehmida Sayed are convicted by special POTA court under sections of IPC, POTA, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act.
*6 August 2009: Three convicts sentenced to death by special [[Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002|POTA]] court. Other two acquitted. In the proceedings of the case, accused said that they had acted ''emotionally'' in response to the Gujarat communal riots, had pleaded to be spared the death sentence. However, public prosecutor showed the court that they had, in fact, acted in cold blood and planned their attacks well. ''When a gelatin blast at Ghatkopar in 28 July 2003, claimed just two lives, they decided to use RDX to take a heavier toll in the twin blasts a month later'', he said. ''They enjoyed the act of killing and deserve no mercy.'' The Pota court rejected all pleas of leniency and held that the brazen terror attack fell under the ''rarest of rare'' category of cases where the death sentence was well deserved.<ref name="TOI" />
*12 February 2012: [[Bombay High Court]] upheld the death sentence awarded by special [[Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002|POTA]] court to Mohammed Haneef Sayed, his wife Fahmeeda and aide Ashrat Ansari. However, [[Bombay High Court|HC]] quashed the order of the [[Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002|POTA]] court of acquitting two other accused, Mohammed Ansari Ladoowala and Mohammed Hasan Batterywala. They will now have to face trial under [[Indian Penal Code|IPC]] charges that had been levelled against them and not under POTA.<ref name="HC upholds death for LeT men in twin blasts case " /><ref name="Death sentence upheld in Mumbai blasts case" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|Maharashtra}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumbai Bombings}}
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2003]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2003]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in India]]
[[Category:2000s in Mumbai]]
[[Category:August 2003 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in India]]

August 2003 Mumbai bombings - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 16:49, 20 April 2021