2006 Varanasi bombings

In March 2006, the Indian city of Varanasi witnessed a series of bombings in which at least 28 people were reportedly killed and 101 injured. Varanasi is considered holy by Hindus and is one of the oldest living city in the world.[1] In June 2022, after 16 years of hearing, Ghaziabad district and sessions court convicted the mastermind and terrorist Waliullah Khan and sentenced him to death.[2][3][4]

2006 Varanasi bombings
LocationVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Date7 March 2006
18:20 IST (UTC+05:30)
TargetSankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station
Attack type
Bombing
Deaths28
Injured101
PerpetratorsLashkar-e Qahab

Blasts
Map of blast locations

Blast at the Temple

The blasts occurred nearly simultaneously shortly after 18:00 IST. The first blast took place at 18:20 at the crowded Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple near the Banaras Hindu University. Hundreds of pilgrims were in temple as it was a Tuesday, believed to be particularly holy by the devotees of Lord Hanuman, a deity at the temple. The bomb was placed in a container near a gate at the temple where women usually sit.[5] It claimed 10 lives and injured 40.[6]

Blast at the station

One other blast followed at the Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station. It occurred in the waiting area next to the travel office. Initially another blast was reported inside the stationary Shiv Ganga Express bound for Delhi; however, this was later discounted. The Shiv Ganga Express departure was delayed by 2 hours, eventually arriving in Delhi 4 hours late but intact. Six bombs were reported defused from other areas in the city, including a restaurant frequented by foreigners, in the vicinity of the railway station.[7] It claimed 11 lives and injured 20.[6]

Timing of the blasts

It is estimated that the date and time of the explosions were selected for causing maximum damage. The CBSE and ISC Examinations (India's school leaving examinations) were in progress and therefore there were many students and worshippers at the temple when the bombs exploded during the Aarti ceremony. Tuesday was also a holy day of the deity at the temple. It is further conjectured that the bomb at the railway station was orchestrated to coincide with the throng of passengers waiting for Shiv Ganga express.

Rescue and relief operations
  • The railway ministry announced ex-gratia of IN Rs 100,000 to the next of kin of those who died in the explosion at the Cantonment railway station in Varanasi.
  • Seriously injured would be sanctioned IN Rs 25,000 each while those with minor injuries will get IN Rs 1,000 each.
  • The railway ministry would bear all expenses of food, medicine and accommodation of the injured persons during the period of treatment.

Investigation

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit, whose member was shot dead in an encounter with police near Lucknow on Wednesday, were prima facie behind the blasts in Varanasi, a senior Uttar Pradesh government official said in Varanasi on Wednesday.[8]

Uttar Pradesh, Chief Secretary, Mr. Sinha said bombs were made in Bihar. The material to make bombs was procured in Nepal which was then smuggled across the porous Indo-Nepal border.

Official response

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm. A state of high alert was declared in India's major cities. Police were sent to all major places of worship in New Delhi. India's Cabinet Committee on Security met in emergency session. Varanasi shut down Wednesday to protest the blasts; shops and businesses closed, and authorities closed schools and colleges.[9] It reopened on 9 March.[10]

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, claimed that UP Police killed one of the suspected Pakistani involved who turned out to be a resident of Madhya Pradesh, but he was part of Lashkar-e Taiba Islamic group and police were on the lookout for him in context of Delhi blasts of 2005.

Reactions

Domestic

The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm. A state of high alert was declared in India's major cities. Police were sent to all major places of worship in New Delhi. India's Cabinet Committee on Security met in emergency session. Varanasi shut down Wednesday to protest the blasts; shops and businesses closed, and authorities closed schools and colleges.[5] It reopened on 9 March.[6]

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, claimed that UP Police killed one of the suspected Pakistani involved who turned out to be a resident of Madhya Pradesh, but he was part of Lashkar-e Toiba Islamic group and police were on the lookout for him in context of Delhi blasts of 2005.

Suspects

A little known group calling itself the Lashkar-e Kahar/Qahab has claimed responsibility for the attacks.[11] A spokesperson for the group who identified himself as Abdullah Jabbar alias Abu Feroz called a local news agency in Srinagar on Thursday morning to claim responsibility for the blasts and threatened similar attacks in other cities unless the government stopped its "catch and kill" campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. A staff of the TV channel said that Feroz spoke in Urdu with a heavy Punjabi accent.[12] It is speculated that the bombings were carried out in retaliation of the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Toiba agent in Varanasi earlier in February 2006.[13] Some analysts see a connection between the bombings and Hindu-Muslim clashes in the city of Lucknow on 4 March 2006 that left four people dead. These clashes started because of protests against the President of the United States George W. Bush's India visit.[14] It is also believed that these attacks were a part of a series which included an attack at the IISc, Bangalore and also at the Akshardham Temple, Gujarat.

See also

References
  1. "Terror strikes Varanasi: 28 killed, no claim yet". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014.
  2. Alam, Shafaque (6 June 2022). "waliullah: 2006 Varanasi serial blasts case: Main accused Waliullah sentenced to death, life imprisonment". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  3. "16 Years After Varanasi Blasts, Mastermind And Terrorist Convicted". NDTV.com. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  4. Dasgupta, Victor. "2006 Varanasi Serial Blasts Convicted Terrorist Waliullah Khan Sentenced to Death". www.india.com. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. "Serial blasts in Varanasi". The Telegraph. 8 March 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2006.
  6. "Bomb blasts rock Varanasi, 21 killed". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  7. "India rail, temple blasts kill 14". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008.
  8. "Lashkar behind blasts: UP official". Rediff. 10 March 2006. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2006.
  9. "Varanasi shut down Wednesday to protest the blasts". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 June 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
  10. "India's Holy City Hums with Life as Kashmiri Group Claims Responsibility". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014.
  11. Bhatt, Sheela; Ahmad, Mukhtar (9 March 2006). "Little known group owns up Varanasi blasts". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2006.
  12. "Aftermath: Lashkar-e-Qahab owns up for Varanasi blasts". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 9 March 2006. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
  13. Lucknow, Sharat Pradhan in. "2 blasts rock Varanasi; 20 dead". Rediff. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016.
  14. Lancaster, John (8 March 2006). "Temple, Station Attacked in India". The Washington Post.
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