TERRORISM - 2008 - Indian Social Institute

including six policemen, were injured in stone throwing resorted to by a mob after the explosion,
the police said. The mob also damaged the jeep of the sub-divisional-magistrate, the police said.
The police fired in the air to disperse the mob. (The Hindu 30/9/08)
Tripura serial blasts: Two killed, 100 hurt (12)
Guwahati: At least two people were killed and more than 100 injured on Wednesday in serial
explosions in Agartala, capital of Tripura, officials said. A police spokesman said there were five
explosions, four in crowded marketplaces and another at a bus station. "All the blasts took place
in a span of about an hour beginning 7.30 pm during peak evening hours with shoppers and
vendors busy ahead of Id and Durga Puja festivals," police spokesman Nepal Das said. Two
people died on the spot at one of the explosion sites at GB Bazar and Maharajganj Bazar in the
heart of Agartala. "About 100 people were injured in the serial blasts, 10 of them critically,"
another police official said. While three of the blasts were reported to be 'powerful', two other
explosions were of low intensity. The injured were shifted to local hospitals with multiple wounds.
"Investigations are on to ascertain the nature of explosives or the terror group involved in the
explosions," Das said. There are two local militant groups in Tripura although both the outfits
were lying low for the last two years. "Tripura militant groups are not known to trigger explosions
and hence the suspicion is on groups from outside the State or even from across the border," a
senior police official said requesting not to be named. Tripura shares a 8560-km-long border with
Bangladesh, with Agartala just two kms away from the border with Bangladesh. (Pioneer 2/10/08)
'They said we split India, then called us communal' (12)
Malegaon, October 2: Two days after a bomb blast killed five Muslims in Maharashtra’s
communally sensitive town of Malegaon and briefly sparked mob violence, the state police had
said on Wednesday that it was nervous about namaaz on Eid as tens of thousands of devout
were expected to gather and emotions could once again flare. What they got instead on Thursday
were tears.“First you pointed fingers at us, saying that we divided the country. Then you told us
that we are communal, and now you tell us we are terrorists,” one of Malegaon’s most prominent
clerics, Mufti Mohammed Ismail, said as he led 1.5 lakh people at namaaz at the Idgah Maidan in
the textile town. And then he broke down in full public view, after condemning Monday night’s
blast which hit the town after Muslims had broken their fasts. His words struck a chord with many
in the crowd and brought tears in their eyes too. While urging Muslim youth to have “better sense
and a conscience”, the imam asked the Government and the police to ensure that innocent
people were not rounded up as suspects. Speaking of “secular politics”, he said, “Kaan khol ke
sun lo, jo qaum tumhe takhto taj pe bitha sakti hai, wohi qaum tumhara janaaza bhi nikaal sakti
hai.” (A community which can place you on a pedestal can also take out your funeral procession).
Hundreds of policemen guarded the venue as the imam touched on “callous investigations”,
“innocent Muslims identified as terrorists” and of the lack of justice for the 2006 serial blasts which
killed 37 people. The idea of “an educated Muslim”, the imam said, was lost today as educated
young men were picked up without evidence and then shown as involved in Terror activities. The
prayer session ended with the imam asking the community to remain alert and help a “just
investigation” if they get leads. Meanwhile, the Collector visited the families of the five killed in the
blasts and handed them compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each. (Indian Express 3/10/08)
Hindu extremist groups on radar in Malegaon probe (12)
Mumbai, October 2: A day after the Maharashtra Police said it could not rule out the possibility of
a Hindu extremist hand in Monday’s blast in Malegaon, investigators are revisiting the crude
bombs that were planted in auditoriums on the outskirts of Mumbai earlier this year. The state
Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) last month charged six members of two Hindu revivalist
organisations, the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), for the incidents in
Thane, Vashi and Panvel, and its members will be questioned in connection with the Malegaon
blast, sources in the ATS told 'The Indian Express' on Wednesday. “The possibility of Hindu
extremist groups being involved is being probed along with other possibilities. We will soon
question members of the Sanatan Sanstha and the HJS,” said a senior ATS official. On
September 11, the ATS had filed a 1,020-page chargesheet against six arrested accused for their
alleged involvement in a small explosion that took place at a Panvel theatre screening Bollywood