Kissed by the vivacious waves of Arabian Sea, India's financial capital Mumbai reflects all life and energy it gets from its spirited residents who affectionately call it 'Aamchi Mumbai'. The city inspires desires and embraces newcomers to live their dreams. People here stay awake all night and compete with stars' sheen and altitude as they live life like no one else on earth. Mumbai is what life could mean in all senses of the word.

13 years ago, when the city and the country was shaken by 7 simultaneous explosions, it seemed everything had stopped for a while.

The serial RDX bombing that went off in the city’s western lines of the local trains brought the city to a halt. According to official records, 189 people died and more than 800 were injured in these terrorist attacks.

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Here is all you need to know about the unfortunate event.

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What the conspiracy was

The charge sheet filed by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said that the key conspirators of the 11th July 2006 attack were the member of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Some Pakistani nationals were supposed to have been involved too. According to the chargesheet, Mohammed Majid Shafi arranged the transportation of the Pakistani terrorists to India via Bangladesh and Nepal border. He also allegedly arranged the return too. The terrorists were trained in Pakistan.

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The main conspirator and the Bombay chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mohammed Faisal Shaikh acquired the money required for the operation through hawala. The terrorists thoroughly observed the Mumbai local trains and places like the Bombay Stock Exchange, World Trade Centre, Siddhivinayak temple and Mahalaxmi temple.

They decided to carry out the bombings in trains because they were the least .secure. The bombs that were used where made in Govandi in Shaikh Alam's house.The electric circuit that was used to trigger the bombs were assembled by Mohammed Sajid Ansari.

How attacks were carried out

The conspirators used different taxis to travel to different locations. The bombs were kept inside pressure cookers and were planted in the first class compartments of different local trains all of which were headed in the northern directions. The timings of the blast coincided with the peak rush hours when passenger density was the highest.

The first bomb went off at 6:23 p m in the train running from Churchgate to Borivali. Within the span of 11 minutes, 6 other bombs exploded in Matunga Road, Mahim, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Mira Road stations. The blasts killed 189 people leaving another 800 severely injured.

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The pictures of the blasts are horrifying to say the least. The train stations were bathed in blood and bodies and people were panic stricken. It was one of the major attacks that happened on Indian public transport and it put railway security into question.

After the bombings of 11th July 2006, 12 people were arrested. In 2015 five accused, Mohammed Faisal Shaikh, Kamal Ahamed, Ehtesham Siddiqui,Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan were sentenced to death.

The remaining seven accused Tanvir Ahmed Ansari, Mohammad Majid Shafi, Shaikh Alam Shaikh, Mohd Sajid Ansari, Muzzammil Shaikh, Soheil Mehmood Shaikh and Zamir Ahmad Shaikh were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Vulnerability of Mumbai

Mumbai’s proximity to the sea makes the city more easily accessible to terrorists than other cities. It is because of this reason that the city had to brave attacks before and even after the tragic train bombings.

1993- March 12, 1993 was the largest coordinated terror attack, in terms of casualties, till date. 13 bombs exploded in 13 different spots of the city leaving over 300 dead and more than 1400 people injured. It was the first attack in India that used RDX bombs.

2003- 10 years after the worst bombings in the history of the country, on August 25, 2003, two blasts rocked the Gateway of India and Zaveri bazaar killing 54 people and leaving 244 people injured. All three accused were sentenced to death by a Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).

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2008- 26/11 has gone down as a black date in Indian History. This day 10 Pakistani terrorists held people hostages in The Taj Hotel and The Oberoi. 164 people were killed. 9 terrorists were killed, one who survived Ajmal Kasab was sentenced to death in 2012.



2011- Mumbai was attacked again on 13th July 2011 when 3 bombs exploded at Dadar in central Mumbai, Zaveri Bazar and the Opera House. The blasts killed 23 and injured about 143 people.

Our condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the train bombings and we hope that the defences of the countries remain strong and safe from any future terrorist invasion and attack.