Date 25th July 2008, Place : Bangalore (Bengaluru)
2008 was a year of turbulence. There were bomb blasts all over the country. The terrorists involved in these cases were affiliated to SIMI, LeT, IM, HuJI etc with links to Pakistan & Bangladesh. Bengaluru was attacked on 25th July.
7 Bombs 7 places. Another bomb was found & defused on 26th July near Forum Mall, Koramangala. A woman was killed & 20 injured in this terrorist attack. Since the blasts were of Low intensity the casualties were low. Gelatine sticks were used in the bombs. Timers were attached to the bombs which were triggered off by a mobile phone. This pattern of bombs were used in Hyderabad, Jaipur & Ajmer blasts too. As per the police, the terrorists only wanted to scare the people, Investigation Bureau suggested SIMI hand behind the blast.
Following the blasts panic set in. People ran helter skelter at the blast sites, mobile lines were jammed, traffic came to a halt. Shops & schools remained open even after the blasts. Nakabandis had been set up at sensitive areas, entry points & check points to the state. Police had rounded up 40 ppl for interrogations. Most of the people caught for interrogation were locals of Gurappanapalya. LeT & SIMI were named as conspirators behind the blasts. HuJI of Bangladesh was also named.
Like the Malegaon & Mecca Masjid blasts, Bengaluru blasts too took place after the Friday Namaaz. It was reported that sleeper cells were activated as terror camps in Karnataka forest were discovered earlier that year. All pointed to the footprints of Jihadi network. The Anti-Terrorist Cell (ATC) attached to the Belgaum district Police arrested three suspected SIMI cadres. They were identified as Naveed Khaji and Ansar Nizami, both from Malmaruti area, and Sadiq Mulla of Azad Nagar. The arrest took place on the basis of information given by suspected SIMI cadres Tanveer Mulla and Iqbal Jakati, who were arrested recently.
A SIMI cadre was arrested in connection with the serial blasts in 25th September 2008. Mohammad Samee Bagewadi alias Mohammad Samee attended most of the important camps organised by the SIMI at Castle Rock near Hubli in Karnataka, Vagamon in Kerala and other places and also underwent training in these camps. Bagewadi, a resident of Bijapur, was allegedly influenced by SIMI’s ideology, and was closely associated with its leaders such as Safdar Nagori, Hafeez Hussain alias Adnan, Shibly, Tauqeer, Shahbaaz, Abu Bashar and others.
Then on February 2009, police arrested 9 Kerala-based terrorists of the Indian Mujahideen outfit in connection with the serial bomb blasts. They were identified as Abdul Sattar alias Sainuddin, his son Sarfuddin, Abdul Jabber, Mujeeb Mohiddin, Faizal Abdul Rehman, Abdul Jaleel Moosa, Manaf Mohammad alias Rahees, Badruddin Noor Ahmed and Sakariya. Abdul Sattar, had revealed the whereabouts of the other two accused during interrogation. These militants, along with Abdul Sattar, are reported to be part of the Shahabuddin Brigade, a south India module of the IM. Sarfaraz Nawaz, 32, who allegedly played a major role in financing the Bangalore blasts, had reportedly sought refuge in Muscat, was also had been nabbed by the RAW. Nawaz was reportedly close to Riyaz Bhatkal, a key LeT operative, who later took over the charge of the Indian Mujahideen.
Sarfaraz collected about INR 320000 from like-minded people ahead of the bomb blasts. He also took part in reconnaissance of various spots and attempted to send a suspected terrorist involved in the blast across the border to train with the LeT in Pakistan. Kerala politician PDP leader Abdul Naseer Madani had close links with the LeT activist Nasir. 3 aides of Nasir were detained. Madani’s wife Soofiya was also arrested.
All the accused had been charged with waging war against the country under Section 121A of the IPC and causing grievous injury and conspiracy under Section 120B of IPC.
Bengaluru had been hit by bomb blasts 4 times in the recent history, 2008, 2010 (before an IPL match where 15 were injured), 2013 (outside BJP HQ, 16 injured) & 2014 (in front of Coconut Grove Restaurant, 1 killed, 3 injured). Investigation by the central security agencies proved that it has become a haven for leaders of terror organisations.The Karnataka Anti-Terrorist Squad was formed in 2008 soon after serial blasts.
Analysis showed that though the attack was preplanned, it wasnt ’successful’ enough because of the distribution & timings of the bomb blasts, bombs were made using Ammonium nitrate, which is relatively easy to obtain thus suggested the involvement of internal terrorist groups.
Police and ATS said the accused had three motives: to tarnish Bangalore’s iconic status acquired after the IT boom; its economic prosperity; and Karnataka being a BJP-ruled State. They were also involved in several other cases, including killing Hindu activists in Kerala, the officials said. – The Hindu
sources : http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/Karnatakaislamist.htm
Wandering Rani 