Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent | September 15, 2008
INDIAN police anti-terror squads were last night raiding the homes of known Islamic militants in New Delhi as they searched for those responsible for the worst terrorist bomb attacks seen in the city in years.
"We have very vital clues, positive clues. We are hopeful we will solve this case very soon," a police official said after at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a series of bomb blasts about sunset on Saturday, in the heart of the Indian capital.
It was claimed to be the work of the al-Qa'ida-linked organisation Indian Mujahideen.
But in swooping on known pockets of Islamic militancy in the teeming city, police were following a familiar and longstanding pattern in Indian terrorism cases, which invariably involves hectic action in the first few hours after an attack and then no follow-up.
Public anger with police and their failure to deal effectively with terrorism was apparent when relatives of victims who visited them in the city's hospitals took aim at the authorities, chanting "Down with the police".
Reports last night said that at least 10 suspects had been picked up in relation to the bombings on the basis of information supplied by witnesses.
A co-ordinated series of at least five explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in New Delhi just after nightfall on Saturday, a prime time for weekend shoppers in the crowded, chaotic Indian city.
The bombs were timed to go off at sundown, just as shoppers were going out in the relative cool of the evening. All five bombs exploded within 30 minutes of each other.
An Islamic militant group, Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the bombings in an email sent to several Indian news organisations.
Some of a series of vitriolic "catch us if you can" emails read: "Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. This time with the Message of Death dreadfully terrorising you for your sins."
The emails charged India with "never-ending hostile hatred in your hearts against Islam and its people" and declared the group had "the potential to assault any city of India at any time".
A bomb disposal expert said the devices appeared to have been packed with steel ball bearings and nuts and bolts.
As barricades were thrown up and all cars and buses searched, the emails promised more terror attacks "to punish you even before your wounds have healed".
The number of casualties might have been much higher if at least two more live bombs that had been planted and primed had gone off - one in a children's playground adjoining India Gate, and the other at the Regal cinema complex in Connaught Place.
At India Gate, a 10-year-old street urchin known as Ravi is said to have found the bomb planted in a garbage bin, "fishing it out with his trembling hands" and called out to his uncle.
"I could see it was a bomb. It had wires dangling from it. Uncle told me to take it to a deserted side of the park and he called the constables," he said yesterday.
Scenes of desperate panic and carnage were witnessed as the bombs went off and the blood-soaked victims - many of them young shoppers visiting markets to buy fashionable clothing - were rushed to nearby hospitals.
In Connaught Place, lifeless bodies of victims were carried by rescue workers from the underground Palika Bazaar and hundreds of thousands of commuters fled in panic after the city's new subway system was closed down.
Chaos and confusion intensified as mobile phone jammers were activated to thwart further detonations and terrified shoppers and commuters found themselves unable to contact their families.
Media reports said 10 people had been detained in the overnight raids. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat confirmed only that "several" people had been detained. He gave no further details on the suspects' identities or where they had been captured.
"We have collected vital clues and we hope to crack the case soon," Mr Bhagat said.
After deadly attacks in May and July by the Indian Mujahideen, police launched a series of raids but they made no arrests or filed charges.
Nevertheless, Indian officials vowed they would not be cowed.
"It's a very cowardly act of violence," Mayor Arti Mehra said near the scene of two of the explosions, in the M-Block market of the city's upscale Greater Kailash neighbourhood.
"They want to break the spirit of Delhi. They have tried this in other places before and they have not succeeded and they will not succeed here. They will not scare us," Mr Mehra said.
Indian Mujahideen, the militant group blamed for the weekend attacks, first appeared last November following a series of blasts in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is seen as an operational offshoot of the al-Qa'ida-linked banned organisation known as the Students Islamic Movement of India.
INDIAN police anti-terror squads were last night raiding the homes of known Islamic militants in New Delhi as they searched for those responsible for the worst terrorist bomb attacks seen in the city in years.
"We have very vital clues, positive clues. We are hopeful we will solve this case very soon," a police official said after at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a series of bomb blasts about sunset on Saturday, in the heart of the Indian capital.
It was claimed to be the work of the al-Qa'ida-linked organisation Indian Mujahideen.
But in swooping on known pockets of Islamic militancy in the teeming city, police were following a familiar and longstanding pattern in Indian terrorism cases, which invariably involves hectic action in the first few hours after an attack and then no follow-up.
Public anger with police and their failure to deal effectively with terrorism was apparent when relatives of victims who visited them in the city's hospitals took aim at the authorities, chanting "Down with the police".
Reports last night said that at least 10 suspects had been picked up in relation to the bombings on the basis of information supplied by witnesses.
A co-ordinated series of at least five explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in New Delhi just after nightfall on Saturday, a prime time for weekend shoppers in the crowded, chaotic Indian city.
The bombs were timed to go off at sundown, just as shoppers were going out in the relative cool of the evening. All five bombs exploded within 30 minutes of each other.
An Islamic militant group, Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the bombings in an email sent to several Indian news organisations.
Some of a series of vitriolic "catch us if you can" emails read: "Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. This time with the Message of Death dreadfully terrorising you for your sins."
The emails charged India with "never-ending hostile hatred in your hearts against Islam and its people" and declared the group had "the potential to assault any city of India at any time".
A bomb disposal expert said the devices appeared to have been packed with steel ball bearings and nuts and bolts.
As barricades were thrown up and all cars and buses searched, the emails promised more terror attacks "to punish you even before your wounds have healed".
The number of casualties might have been much higher if at least two more live bombs that had been planted and primed had gone off - one in a children's playground adjoining India Gate, and the other at the Regal cinema complex in Connaught Place.
At India Gate, a 10-year-old street urchin known as Ravi is said to have found the bomb planted in a garbage bin, "fishing it out with his trembling hands" and called out to his uncle.
"I could see it was a bomb. It had wires dangling from it. Uncle told me to take it to a deserted side of the park and he called the constables," he said yesterday.
Scenes of desperate panic and carnage were witnessed as the bombs went off and the blood-soaked victims - many of them young shoppers visiting markets to buy fashionable clothing - were rushed to nearby hospitals.
In Connaught Place, lifeless bodies of victims were carried by rescue workers from the underground Palika Bazaar and hundreds of thousands of commuters fled in panic after the city's new subway system was closed down.
Chaos and confusion intensified as mobile phone jammers were activated to thwart further detonations and terrified shoppers and commuters found themselves unable to contact their families.
Media reports said 10 people had been detained in the overnight raids. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat confirmed only that "several" people had been detained. He gave no further details on the suspects' identities or where they had been captured.
"We have collected vital clues and we hope to crack the case soon," Mr Bhagat said.
After deadly attacks in May and July by the Indian Mujahideen, police launched a series of raids but they made no arrests or filed charges.
Nevertheless, Indian officials vowed they would not be cowed.
"It's a very cowardly act of violence," Mayor Arti Mehra said near the scene of two of the explosions, in the M-Block market of the city's upscale Greater Kailash neighbourhood.
"They want to break the spirit of Delhi. They have tried this in other places before and they have not succeeded and they will not succeed here. They will not scare us," Mr Mehra said.
Indian Mujahideen, the militant group blamed for the weekend attacks, first appeared last November following a series of blasts in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is seen as an operational offshoot of the al-Qa'ida-linked banned organisation known as the Students Islamic Movement of India.
Source: The Australian
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