TWIN BOMB BLASTS ROCKS MUMBAI

[Guest mehtab]

http://headlines.sify.com/2674news3.html?h...toll~crosses~60

Mumbai twin blasts toll crosses 60

Mumbai: In a major explosion after the 1993 serial blasts, at least 42 people were killed and over 150 injured when two car bombs exploded in separate areas of Mumbai on Monday as security was beefed up in entire Maharashtra. But, unconfirmed reports indicated that the toll could be well over 60.

Two explosions occurred one after the other at about 1:10 p.m. in cars parked at Mumbadevi and Gateway of India areas creating panic in these areas of south Mumbai, police said.

The entire state was put on red alert and security beefed up. Security checks were organised all over Maharashtra.

Police sources said these twin explosions were major after the 1993 serial blasts in which 257 people were killed and 713 injured.

Maharashtra Health Minister Digvijay Singh said 26 bodies were brought to J.J hospital, 13 in St. Georges and three in G.T hospital.

About 85 people were admitted with serious injuries in J J hospital, 38 in G.T and 28 in St. Georges, he said.

J J hospital witnessed a gory sight with mutiliated bodies and blood splattered all around. The seriously injured were admitted with splinters all over their bodies.

Eye-witness accounts said the powerful blast at Gateway of India shattered the glass panes of Taj Mahal hotel and Anushakti Bhavan, housing the office of department of Atomic Energy, located nearby.

City police commissioner R S Sharma said the explosions appeared to be the handiwork of terrorists

but so far no one has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

PTI

khalsa_007 veerjee, plz let us know how are things with u jee

[Uncrowned Warrior]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

It has been said that the bombing was led out by Muslim Extremists.

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

[Uncrowned Warrior]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

Its also been sed tht 0ver 47 people have been killed

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

[Guest mehtab]

more than 60 dead...around 139 or so injured...there are a bunch of gruesome and horrifying pictures on the internet...didn't know if it would be good to post em here...the politicians have started their job of blaming militant islamic groups like SIMI (students islamic movement of India) and LeT (lashkar-e-toiba...however that is spelt).

[S1ngh]

It's the problem within the country boundaries.. but at the end they will say.. "It's all pakistan doing this".. Instead of blaming others, why don't they try to make themselve correct.. Like after 9/11 US flipped immigration stuff upside down.. These indin guys will saying all stuff for their benefit and poor innocent ppls suffer.. it's all cauz they fail to control their country...

[Guest mehtab]

ya u r right...in the end its always the innocents who suffer the most, be they hindus/muslims/sikhs/christians etc. and the ones who remain unaffected are always politicians.

[nanosecond]

In North Jersey, concern, anger

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

By DOUGLASS CROUSE and DEENA YELLIN

STAFF WRITERS

Waking with a start Monday morning, Vairagi Shah looked up to find her mother pulling her out of bed and urging her to turn on the news.

"All we heard was that there was a bomb in India," said Shah, a student who lives in New Milford. "We were so worried."

As more details trickled in, Shah experienced dueling emotions - shock to learn that two car bombs had killed dozens in the coastal city of Bombay, but relief that the terrorists had struck far from her family and friends in another province.

North Jersey residents with roots in India - even those accustomed to reports of violence in their homeland, a democratic nation of 1 billion people with diverse tongues and faiths - said they felt saddened and in some cases angered by Monday's bombings.Those with direct ties to Bombay reacted with alarm to Monday's attacks. Zacharia Ninan's eyes widened in horror when a reporter told him the news.

"My brother is in Bombay," said Ninan, who lives in Teaneck. "I'm very worried now about him and his family. I hope they are safe. I will have to call him when I get home."

Bhupendra Gadhavi, president of the Wayne-based India Cultural Society of New Jersey, blamed the increasing violence in India on international terrorist networks that "undermine the power of democracy" and misrepresent religious teachings, such as those of Islam."

"These forces are using the cover of communal violence [between religious groups] and the workings of the under

world in Bombay to harbor terrorists in that region," he said. "The spiritual leaders have a large responsibility to ensure that extremism does not occur in the name of spiritual beliefs. Religion should never be used as a front to take innocent lives."

Gadhavi and several other Indian-Americans suggested that the Indian government has been fairly passive in its reaction to terror groups out of concern for world opinion.

Gurmeet Singh, a Sikh who owns the New Subzi Market in Passaic, said the Hindu-majority government has failed in some cases to consider the grievances of the nation's religious minorities, including Sikhs and Muslims seeking more self-governance.

"Nobody would look at what happened today and say that is a good thing, but if we want to stop these bombings, we have to put some of the blame on the government," said Singh, who left the state of Punjab in 1978. "The government always announces, 'This is a Hindu state.' That angers the minorities."

Singh, 46, also criticized what he called the Indian Parliament's knee-<admin-profanity filter activated> response of blaming acts of violence on Pakistan, whose leaders issued strong condemnations of Monday's bombings.

"We have a joke in Punjab: 'If someone's dog goes missing, just blame Pakistan,'" he said.

Others said that in most cases Hindus and Muslims live together peacefully in India, and that most terrorist plans seem to be hatched outside the country.

"The Muslims living in India are not the trouble," said Bharat Rana, who recently lost a City Council bid in Passaic, where more than 3,000 Indian-Americans live. Most come from the state of Gujarat, the site of some of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence in recent years. The state was put on alert after Monday's bombings.

"When India split from Pakistan, India told Muslims, 'Whoever wants to go to Pakistan can leave.'" Rana said. "Most left, but those who stayed did

so because they felt safe ... and because they consider India a sacred place."

Today, he said, terrorist groups in India have grown more violent and sophisticated.

"These groups, when they try to hit the target, they can contact each other in a few minutes," he said. "Before, when they didn't have all this technology, it was easier for the police to get them right away."

Jogi Singh, who works at a store in Lodi, said he watched the early morning news and heard no mention of the bombings. "I had no idea," said Singh, who came to New Jersey from New Delhi 12 years ago. "This is really terrible. This gives me a very bad feeling."