On March 12, 1993, Mumbai was rocked by 12 explosions in different parts of the city. These series of blasts left 250 dead and nearly 700 injured. According to some news reports, the death toll was over 300, and the number of injured stood at 1,400.

A day before the blasts, then Chief Minister Sharad Pawar had instructed a meeting of police inspectors and senior officers at the Police Club: "I don't want Beirut replicated in Bombay."

Unfortunately, Bombay --now Mumbai-- suddenly became the midpoint of a terror attack the very next day.

After the attack, CM Pawar announced that the blasts had occurred in 13 places, though in real, there had been 12 blasts in total that day.

So, why did the chief minister lie?

Pawar made a call to tell this lie after he found out that all of the 12 blasts had occurred in Hindu-dominated areas.

In an attempt to keep communal violence at bay, Pawar had hurried to the Doordarshan studios and announced that blasts had occurred at 13 places in the city.

The 13th place, he named, was Musjid Bunde, a Muslim-dominated locality.

Later, when Pawar accepted his lie, he was praised by the Justice Srikrishna Commission.

The 1993 Mumbai attack

Apart from 26/11 Mumbai attack, the 1993 Mumbai attack is regarded as one of the most well-planned terror attacks in India. In this attack, RDX was used as explosives for the first time on Indian soil.

In terms of number of casualties, this attack is regarded as the largest coordinated terror attack ever taken place in India.

Most of the bombs were planted in scooters or cars, whereas in hotels, suitcase bombs were left.

Starting from 1:30 pm to 3:40 pm, a total of 12 bombs exploded throughout Mumbai, including at Fisherman's Colony in Mahim, Plaza Cinema, Zaveri Bazaar, Katha Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, Air India building, Sahar Airpot, Worli, Cntury Bazaar, Worli, Mumbai Stock Exchange Building, Masjid-Mandvi Corporation Bank Branch and Passport office, besides BSE.

Also read:

1993 blasts: What happened on Mumbai's black Friday

1993 Mumbai blasts: How the Narasimha Rao government reacted

Mumbai blasts: Moment of reckoning

The Memons: India's most wanted family