2006 Mumbai train bombings
Updated: Wikipedia source
The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July 2006. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital, The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying on the Western Line Suburban Section of the Mumbai Division of Western Railway. The blasts killed 209 people and injured over 700 more. Pressure cookers were used in the bombing and other attacks to increase the afterburn in a thermobaric reaction, more powerful than conventional high explosives. The first blast reportedly took place at 18:24 IST (12:54 UTC), and the explosions continued until 18:35, during the after-work rush hour. All the bombs had been placed in the first-class "general" compartments of several trains running from Churchgate, the city-centre end of the western railway line, to the western suburbs of the city. They exploded at or in the near vicinity of the suburban railway stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali. Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known". Initial investigation revealed that the plot was hatched by Azam Cheema, an operative of the Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in Bahawalpur, in collaboration with Students' Islamic Movement of India. The probe revealed infiltration of several LeT bombers from Pakistan through Nepal border. Subsequent investigation into the train bombings and other terror attacks in 2008 revealed the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the attack. Two Pakistani bombers were eventually gunned down in an encounter with Mumbai police on 21 August 2006, while one bomber was killed in the attack due to crowd rush. Eventually, 13 of the accused were arrested, with 12 people convicted in September 2015, five of whom were given capital punishment. On 21 July 2025, Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the case, including those sentenced to life imprisonment. Court said that the prosecution had "utterly failed" to prove the charges against the accused. On 24 July 2025, Supreme Court of India stayed the acquittal order of the Bombay High Court and later clarified that the released accused would not return to jail.