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The morning after blasts

Mumbai police officers inspect debris at the Opera House early on Thursday morning.

Home Minister P Chidambaram said the explosive device in Opera house was placed on the road.

A man watches as the body of his relative is put into an ambulance to be taken for last rites in Mumbai on Thursday.

Three coordinated bombings tore through the heart of India's busy financial capital during rush hour on Wednesday.

Indian officials called an emergency security meeting on Thursday to investigate three coordinated bombings that killed 17 people, and injuring hundreds on Wednesday.

People, left, wait outside the morgue of JJ hospital to claim the bodies of their relatives who died in bomb explosions in Mumbai.

Mumbai policemen sit guard behind barricades at Zaveri Bazar, one of the sites of the blasts in Mumbai.

A man carries egg trays near Zaveri bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing in Mumbai, July 14, 2011. Police are looking into "every possible hostile group" in their search for the culprits behind the bombing in the heart of Mumbai.

Visibly tired policemen take a break near Zaveri Bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

People who work at Zaveri Bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing, wait for the shops to open in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

A policeman reads a newspaper as others watches near Zaveri Bazar, one of three sites of explosions in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

An unidentified relative signs forms at the morgue to claim the body of his brother who died in one of the three bomb explosions, in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

A child looks out from a torn plastic sheet to watch police near Zaveri Bazar, one of three sites of explosions in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

A man watches as the body of his relative is put into an ambulance to be taken for last rites in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that 99% of the terror attacks had been stopped in the country, thanks to various measures, including improved intelligence. Addressing a press conference

in Bhubaneswar, a day after serial bombings in Mumbai killed at least 17 people and injured more than 130, the Congress MP called for efforts to stop terrorist attacks in the country.



"It is very difficult to stop any single terrorist attack," he said, adding that 99% of the attacks have been stopped. "We must stop 100% attack." Referring to Wednesday's attack, Gandhi said the response of the government was prompt.



"We are responding to it in a quite organised fashion." Gandhi, the son of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is on a two-day visit to Orissa beginning Wednesday to strengthen the grassroots base of the party.



He returns to New Delhi on Thursday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said that the security cameras installed around the blast sites in Mumbai have given very crucial information and they are being examined and analysed.



The Maharashtra Chief Minister has also said that the state Home Minister RR Patil informed the Cabinet on the investigations in Wednesday's blast.



The Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday held a special meeting to discuss the fallout of Wednesday's bomb blasts. The state Cabinet discussed about the medical facilities of the injured. Security post 26/11 was also discussed.



Terror struck Mumbai once again on Wednesday when three bomb blasts rocked some of the most crowded places of the city killing at least 17 people and injuring 131 others.



The first blast took place at 6:54 PM at south Mumbai's crowded Zaveri Bazaar. Within a few minutes Opera House and Dadar, too, were hit by powerful explosions.



Wednesday's blasts took place just two days after the fifth anniversary of the Mumbai serial train blasts on July 11, 2006 in which at least 186 people were killed. The blasts also evoked horrific memories of serial

blasts in the past as both Dadar and Zaveri Bazar have been targeted earlier too.

Zaveri Bazaar, the city’s densely crowded jewellery market, was bustling with activity at 6.45 pm on  wednesday evening when the first of the blasts that struck Mumbai went off, leaving seven dead and at least 17 others injured.



The bomb was strapped to a Hero Honda motorbike, parked outside the well-known eatery, Mohan Puddlawala.



Within five minutes, around 6.50 pm, another bomb exploded, this one strapped to a scooter.



The twin blasts at Zaveri Bazaar have caused the worst casualty compared to the explosions at Dadar and Opera House. The blast shattered windowpanes in several shops, so many people had shard injuries.



Brothers Saiful and Ahmed, who live in a building close to the spot where the first blast occurred, said: "We initially thought that an LPG cylinder had exploded in the restaurant that occupies the ground floor of our building. We rushed out and only then realised that it was a bomb blast."



Even before the police and other agencies arrived, locals had rushed to help, and many of them took the injured to the hospitals closeby. A local, who identified himself only as Mustafa, was completely soaked in blood.



“I managed to drive two injured people to GT Hospital on my bike," he said. The police, the disaster management team, the quick response team, the paramilitary force, the bomb disposal squad and the fire

brigade all reached the scene of the blast within minutes.



Vijay Shah, a shopkeeper from the area, is anxious as he had sent his 25-year-old delivery boy out in the area for some work. “I am worried as he is not responding to my phone calls. I am afraid as he stopped responding after the blasts.”



Several politicians also hurried to the area. Local BJP leader Raj Purohit said: "This is the third attack in Zaveri Bazaar. South Mumbai, and particularly Zaveri Bazaar, is the economic heart of the city. This is where

some of the highest gold and diamond trading takes place. Terrorists have found a way of destabilising the city by attacking at a place where it hurts the most: the economic hub."

Union home minister P Chidambaram said

on Thursday that Wednesday's Mumbai

blasts were coordinated terror attack and

that all groups that are capable of carrying

out such blasts are suspects. The home

minister said that the government did not

have any intelligence inputs about

Wednesday's

blast with central and state agencies.

Ammonium nitrate with timer devices were

used in the IEDs in Mumbai, Chidambaram

said. It was not a remotely triggered blast

and the Dadar blast was a low intensity one,

he added.

He put the death toll at 18 and said that the

number of injured stand at 131 including 23

who are seriously in Wednesday's blasts.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan

announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for

families of blast victims.

Witnesses recal the horror of the

triple blasts in Mumbai on Wednesday

evening at Dadar, Zaveri Bazar and Opera

House. The three most crowded business

districts in the city were targeted at peak

office leaving times between 6:50 pm and

7:05 pm, leaving scores dead and injured.

An eye witness Hemant said, "the sight was

something so bad that unfortunately no one

who saw it live will forget it."

Scenes at the hospitals were heart rending

as anxious relatives flocked to various

hospitals searching for their loved ones.

"I cried so much at first, but then I realised I

should be handling the situation instead of

crying," said a relative.

The blasts came exactly 5 years and 2 days

after the 7/11 train blasts. With Mumbai

being targeted time and time again, anger

on the streets was clearly on the rise.

"Every second we are afraid something will

happen," said a Mumbaikar.

Another Mumbaikar said, "When Indians

come together and show these terror

outfits are strength, then they will that India

is India."

Though the emergency response system

seemed to have improved this time,

Mumbaikars are asking when the system

will be equipped enough to prevent such

terror attacks.

Terror has struck Mumbai once again killing

at least 21 people and injuring more than

hundred. Two days after the fifth

anniversary of the 7/11 serial bombings,

three explosions rocked the Maximum city

once again.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar

said at least 21 people were killed and over

100 injured in the attacks.The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed a

terror plot and said that Improvised

Explosive Devices had been used in the

blasts. It had said at least 20 people had

been killed in the attacks and 113 others

injured.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj

Chavan had earlier said thirteen people

were killed and 81 hurt in the attacks. He

said the police officials had reached the

spot, adding he was in constant touch with

Home Minister P. Chidambaram. He

appealed to the Mumbaikars to maintain

calm. The home minister leaves on

Wednesday night for Mumbai.

The MHA said the leads pointed to the Indian

Mujahideen's hands.

Mumbai Police are questioning two IM

members, who had been arrested on

Tuesday. Internal Secretary, Home Ministry,

UK Bansal said the attacks at dense areas

were intended to cause maximum damage.

All the blasts occurred at Mumbai's crowded

market places in the peak rush hour. The

explosions occurred at Zaveri Bazar, Dadar

and Opera House between 6:45PM and 7PM.

The first blast took place in south Mumbai's

Zaveri Bazaar, near the famous Mumbadevi

temple. Four to five cars have been badly

damaged.

The second bomb went off in a taxi in

Dadar's Kabutar Khana area, a stone's throw

distance from Dadar railway station. The

number of that taxi is MH-43 A 9384. Two

people are said to be in the taxi. They have

been injured in the blast. Police have also

recovered a tiffin box from the area.

The third explosion occurred at the Opera

House building next to Pancharatna

Diamond Market. The blast took place in the

Prasad Chamber of the building.

According to JJ Hospital, 10 people have

been brought from the Zaveri Bazar blast

site. One of them has been confirmed dead,

while nine others are seriously injured.

All mobile networks have been jammed in

the blast areas.

While Chidambaram chaired a high-level

meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh spoke to Chavan to stock of the

situation.

Chidambaram said all the injured had been

evacuated. "The explosions took place

within minutes of each other, hinting at the

co-ordinated terror attacks," he said,

appealing for calm. He said the Home

Ministry will issue statements on every two

hours.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik,

on being asked if it was a terror attack, said,

"I believe so."

Union Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh has

spoken to the DGP of Maharashtra. An NIA

team has been rushed to Mumbai for probe

into the serial blasts.

Bomb investigation unit of the NSG and a

forensic team of CFSL are also being sent to

Mumbai. High alert has been sounded in 14

cities including Delhi, with Delhi Police

spokesperson saying, "We are keeping eye

on the situation in Mumbai." The quick

reaction team of the Army has been put on

standby.

Maharashtra PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal

advised people to stay indoors.

Leaders from all political parties

have condemned the serial blasts that

rocked congested areas of Mumbai

Wednesday evening, killing at least 20

people and injuring over 100.

The blasts took place in three areas of south

Mumbai - near Kabutarkhana in Dadar West,

Zaveri Bazar and Opera House, the jewellery

hubs of Mumbai - around 7 p.m.

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan

condemned the near-simultaneous

explosions causing loss of life and injuries

to innocent citizens.

Sankaranarayanan, who was in Delhi,

rushed back to Mumbai on hearing the

news.

In a statement issued here, he said: "The

news of terrorists striking in the commercial

capital of India in the rush hour of the

evening today is shocking and shows the

desperate levels the terrorists have

stooped."

"I convey my sympathies to the families of

the victims of the blasts and wish speedy

recovery to the injured," he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the

Nationalist Congress Party assured of

thorough investigation into the blasts and

appealed to Mumbaikars to not pay heed to

rumours and stay alert.

"Help will be extended to all victims in all

possible manner. However, it is still early to

tell the hand behind the blasts," he said.

Opposition leader Eknath Khadse of the

Bharatiya Janata party condemned the

attacks. "I sympathise with the relatives of

those killed and injured," he said.

State president of Samajwadi Pary Abu Azmi

said: "Police should be strict in investigating

the bomb blasts that have killed many and

injured more than 100 people," he said.

Azmi appealed to people not to make a

communal issue out of the blasts and help

each other and police in bringing the guilty

to books.

"The blasts should not be associated with

any specific religion or community. The

police should also not catch hold of those

who are not guilty for the crime," Azmi said.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: "It is

unfortunate and disgusting. I strongly

condemn the blasts."

Former minister of state Gurudas Kamat also

condemned the attacks and said that the

guilty should be brought to book as soon as

possible.