COVER STORY

FAWZAN HUSAIN

IN BO In just over two hours and with more then explosions, international terrorism with devices of destruction, had arrived in

The wrecked Bombay Stock Exchange: a concerted attempt to destabilise the economy?

42 AS a metaphor for modern India. of deaths had crossed 300 with 1.500 storey building that overlooks the /-\y has no equal. As a target injured, many of them critically. In nearby port area and naval base. After JL JL for terrorists bent on sending a addition, an unestimated number, the many days since the post-budget gloom, destructive message, it is perhaps even police believe, were simply vapourised business was beginning to look up. At more so. That reality hit home with in explosions powerful enough to tear 1:26 p.m., an explosion ripped apart the crushing force last week as the city was through four levels of concrete flooring, two-level basement parking area of the shaken to its high-rise foundations by a reduce a double-decker bus to the size of building. It shattered offices two floors sequence of explosions on carefully- a mangled Maruti, fling people and above—housing bank branches—and selected and highly vulnerable targets, a debris more than a hundred feet away, moved outward to engulf a crowd of majority of them the most visible sym- and shatter window panes at four times share application form hawkers, pass- bols of the city's status as the country's that distance. ersby and roadside food sellers getting financial and commercial nerve centre. "I can't believe what is happening to ready to serve a lunch-time crowd. For a metropolis that had barely this city," says Alyque Padamsee, ad- "It was like an atom bomb during recovered from the communal frenzy man, theatre personality and a member Diwali, only a million times more that took over 600 lives in December of an independent city peace committee powerful," says Arjun Marfatia, a Ba- and January, the latest disaster came formed after the riots. "We used to roda-based broker who was visiting the like a series of frenzied hammer blows. In believe^ that something like this could exchange at that time. Marfatia, who the space of just over two-and-a-half never'happen here. Now we know that was near the ring when the explosion hours on a Friday afternoon, interna- anything can happen." came, saw smoke billowing out of the tional terrorism, in its most macabre In its gruesome totality, it was a staircases and flames beginning to reach and frightening form, rampaged nightmare come true on a much more KAPPARATH through Bombay, shattering buildings horrific scale than anything conjured and taking a deadly toll of human lives. up by the city's violence-oriented movie Even the traditional targets of terror- makers. Even for a country by now ist bombs—Lebanon, London, Ireland, hardened to terrorist strikes and com- Germany in the late '70s, and New York munal mayhem, the cold-blooded, clini- earlier this month, have never been cal and perfectly-planned explosions victim to this kind of sequential bomb- seemed to be the ultimate act of insanity. ings on a single day and with such a There were a few minutes left for massive body count. trading to end at the annexe of the Two days after Black Friday, the tally Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), a 29-

Rescue efforts at the Stock Exchange: a combination of remarkable grit and steady nerves COVER STORY

out in the darkness—the power supply economy"—the explosion at Century had blinked out. He fought his way out of Bazar in Worli, was the most visibly THE CLUES a side entrance along with about 8,000 destructive. At 2:58 p.m., a double- people who normally throng the build- decker bus run by Bombay's transport The leads on which investiga- ing during business hours. authority BEST, ran over a pot-hole tions now depend: The explosive device, which investi- which, according to investigators, had a 1. Bombs went off in the gators say was placed in a car in the plastic pressure-based explosive device, rooms of Hotel Sea Rock and the basement parking area and activated by which blew the bus to bits. Thirty people Centaur hotels at Juhu and Santa a timer device (see following pages), are estimated to have died inside the bus, Cruz. In what could indicate a claimed at least 50 lives, and injured and the blast decimated three nearby linking pattern, at all three hotels about 200 people. Barely nine minutes apartment buildings, besides flattening there were occupants who had later, another explosion rocked the passersby and vehicles with shrapnel paid for their rooms in advance, grain trading centre at Narsi Natha and concussion. The injured numbered given false names and addresses, Street, near the Victoria Terminus rail- between 500 and 600. and had left the hotels with their way station. Compared to the BSE blast, it At the moment of the blast, room keys at the time of the blast. was minor in terms of magnitude and Dr Shalini Sabnis, who runs the Worli Hotel staffers are being ques- casualties. But before anybody could women's hospital, had just finished a tioned about these occupants and grasp the connection, a rapid series of telephone conversation with a friend with the help of descriptions from them, identikit sketches are being developed. 2. Hand grenades were lobbed from a moving vehicle at Mahim's Macchimar Nagar. Eye- witnesses from the scene are help- ing the police in constructing identikit sketches of the vehicle's occupants. 3. Registration and chassis numbers of the cars—some of which are likely to be found in the debris which the police are now combing through—that were used in the bombings could provide vital clues. While most of the cars are expected to be stolen vehicles, those that are not could help move the investigations further. 4. An abandoned Maruti van found by the police and its cache of arms and ammunition. Other articles recovered from the van include two plastic prayer beads, two small plastic bottles A victim at the Air India Building: helping hands filled with water and labelled 'holy water' in Arabic script and a blasts devastated 11 other targets, in- who had informed her about the BSE packet of dates. cluding the Air India headquarters at explosion. She was still holding the 5. A Sri Lankan national de- Nariman Point—the country's finan- receiver when the blast ripped through tained on March 6—and was cial and commercial hub—the jewellery the hospital. She reacted quickly. Even subsequently arrested—who had market at Zaveri Bazar, two Air India- though her consultation room facing changed large amounts of foreign managed Centaur hotels in north bom- the street was reduced to rubble, she currency with the help of stolen bay and the Welcomgroup's Sea Rock checked on her patients—six women travellers cheques at a city hotel. Hotel. Other targets included a petrol and two infants—found them safe and 6. The abandoned van was pump near the Shiv Sena headquarters herded them out, only to see a horrific traced to Yakub Memon, a char- at Shivaji Park, and two movie theatres sight. Cars were in flames, and people tered accountant, who flew to in Central Bombay in heavily populated dismembered and bloodied ran about Dubai with his family on the day areas. Between the first explosion at 1:26 blindly, screaming for help. of the blasts. However, the van p.m. and the last at 3:54 p.m. at the Sea Harsh Thakkar, a commerce gradu- could have been stolen by terror- Rock, Bombay streets were littered with ate from Bombay's Sydenham College, ists. Police are investigating a trail of blood and destruction. was returning to his Worli home with Memon's antecedents. Though the stock exchange and Air his brother Kumar in his Maruti after 7. Two scooters found India building blasts were significant in viewing the carnage at the Stock Ex- with about 8 kg of explosives (RDX terms of targeting the city's financial change, when he approached the site: with PETN ) each which was wired nerve centre— Chief Min- "Suddenly there was an explosion," to the ignition. ister claimed the exercise says Thakkar, "a red ball of fire roiled was conducted "to destabilise the towards me." It was then that Thakkar saw something fly through the open window of the car. He turned and saw a severed hand lying on the back seat: "There was nothing left of the bus. The The Centre: How it Reacted cars ahead of me and behind were smashed. But we were alive. It was an HE Home Ministry's control tive but he insisted that he would absolute miracle." room received news of the only leave next morning. Getting Bombay, on that day, was full of Tbomb blasts at 2.30 p.m., one wind of news that Pilot, instead of similar miraculous escape stories: bro- hour after the first blast rocked the waiting for the special plane, was kers leaving the stock exchange seconds Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The arranging to leave by a commercial before the explosion, cars pulling out of message was immediately passed on flight, Chavan swung into action— the petrol pump just before it ignited and to Union Home Minister S.B. Chavan but not before Rao intervened asking people passing targeted buildings min- in Parliament, and to Minister of both to leave the same evening. utes before they blew up. But providen- State for Internal Security, Rajesh A reluctant prime minister had to tial escapes apart, the real reason why a Pilot, attending a BSE function. be pressurised to make a quick trip to lot more people didn't lose their lives at Pilot was looking forward to a Bombay. In January, when Bombay the blast sites is because of Bombay's relaxed evening. It was his wedding was in the midst of large-scale com- legendary qualities: a welcome com- anniversary and he had promised munal rioting, Rao had gone only a bination of sheer grit, calm nerves, and a his wife he'd be home by PRAMOD PUSHKARNA remarkable degree of unselfishness. 7.30 p.m. Earlier in the afternoon, Chavan had A T the BSE, in-house security quickly held a meeting in his Par- f-\k charge to seal off the flaming liament House office to re- A. A. entrance and usher people to a view the alarming situa- safe exit. After the initial panic had tion. By 5 p.m., high-level subsided, people calmly went down the teams of the IB, RAW, CFSL steps; there were no stampedes. And and ballistic experts from those outside who were safe, rushed in the NSG had been rushed to almost immediately to pull out the dead Bombay. The country was and injured. And some did so, despite placed on high alert, the being injured themselves. army alerted in Bombay Jasmin Shah, an employee at a and security beefed up in nearby branch of the Bank of Maharash- communally sensitive ar- tra, was on her way to the exchange. On eas. The Bombay Police, the steps when the explosion happened, on high alert, was quick in she staggered under the impact and reacting. The riot Police tried to go back to the bank. Hardly had taken up positions realising that she had glass shards in her within hours of the blast arms, legs and stomach, some two and managed to control a inches long, she forced herself to keep minor outbreak of stone going till she reached her office across throwing at Mahim which the street. Maruti Pawar, a peon with got tense when Sobhagya Advertising, was passing by handgrenades were flung and rushed in to help with lifting the by occupants of a car. Chavan (left), Pilot: domestic crisis dead from the basement and the street, By evening, all police pulling away many of the injured to a officers and junior ranks who were week later and, as appalled safer area till ambulances could take on leave were recalled and police Bombayites remember, had not once them to the hospitals. Asvin Seth, a sub- stations ordered to check basements disembarked from his car. He did broker with his office near the exchange, of high-rise buildings. Residents better this time by visiting two bomb rushed out when he heard the explo- were also asked to keep basements sites and one hospital where he met sion, and immediately started tending to and cars secure. Checkposts were set the injured. A bullet-proof Ambassa- the injured on the street. up and vehicles randomly checked. dor was, however, flown in to Bom- These scenes were repeated all Prime Minister Narasimha Rao bay by a special plane two hours over Bombay. At the Air India build- was in Sikar in Rajasthan where he before he himself left by an Indian Air ing—where the first two floors had gone to address a public meeting. Force Boeing. The vehicle was were badly damaged, passersby-turned- Immediately after his return at about needed for the trips to the blast sites. rescue workers piled the injured into 5.30 p.m., Rao was intercepted by The Home Ministry quickly issued whatever vehicle was available, with Pilot and briefed on the situation. instructions to all states to beef up obliging owners ferrying them to hospi- The crisis, Home Ministry security at all airports and railway tals. A driver who did not stop when sources reveal, did not help Chavan stations. Indian Airlines was asked not signalled was cursed and his car stoned. to forget even momentarily his ani- to accept cargo or courier packets till At the Sea Rock, the staff took over mosity towards Pilot. Maharashtra further orders, while all international smoothly and efficiently. The visiting being his home state, Chavan was ports were put on alert. For once, the English national hockey team manager naturally keen on going himself in- Government seemed to have acted Alan Walker recounts how after the stead of letting Pilot seize the initia- SWiftly. —HARINDER BAWEJA blast that knocked out a section of the

45 COVER STORY

18th floor, his players, who were sun- help from the enthusiastic mobs." Besides immediately fanning out to the ning themselves by the poolside, were Anybody who could, chipped in. The trouble spots and positioning them- stunned. "Immediately there was a lot of fire brigade rushed tenders to the stock selves in previously riot-torn areas to staff directing us—there was no panic." exchange within 10 minutes of the forestall any chances of violence, many And where there was, mainly among blast. The city has only 35 tenders, of police vans roamed around the city employees and visitors at the Air India which 20 were sent to Dalai Street. As using public address systems to appeal building—stairwells jammed with peo- the blasts spread, the fire department for blood donations. Meanwhile, samar- ple and elevators overloaded—outsiders was completely stretched, speeding itans did their bit by going around with helped calm them down. In fact, there from one bomb site to the other, with placards bearing the same requests. was so much help from the public at the ordinary people helping to plug the gap. Hundreds of willing donors queued up at scenes of destruction that it prompted The navy sent down a contingent from the city's 11 blood banks. Everyone what is possibly the best tribute to them, its base, the army offered help and the seemed willing to help. from the Bombay Fire Brigade chief D.G. police—after a controversial record dur- In the city's hospitals, the scene was Kulkarni: "Our biggest problem was ing the January riots—moved quickly. one of overflowing morgues, packed operation theatres and overworked staff. As victims began to pour into St George's Hospital from the BSE, for in- stance, its doctors went into overdrive. Says Dr Ashok Kamble, the resident medical officer: "The experience culled during the riots was invaluable. We didn't even take two minutes after the first few bodies came in to organise ourselves." In half an hour, St George's had received 80 injured, and 11 DOAS (dead-on-arrival). People were being brought in with multiple trauma inju- ries, fractures, abdominal ruptures—an entire spectrum of cases requiring im- mediate attention. All 90 doctors on its rolls were brought in, as were almost 300 support staff. The hospital's 40- strong dentist force helped suture wounds. As hands began to fall short, volunteers from the Directorate of Health Services and Medical Education rushed in. And among the first few to offer help at the hospital were workers of the Shiv Sena.

HANKFULLY, the collective shock and outrage as well as the choice of Ttargets prevented a greater holo- caust—the fear of communal blood- letting. Once the news about the targets spread, so did the realisation that few vested interests in Bombay would have the capacity or the expertise to pull off such a co-ordinated operation. And as it also proved that it was not directed at people from any particular community, everybody banded together to face the daunting challenge. "This is a time for all of us to stay together," said Keola Prasad, a taxi-driver from Varanasi, whose windscreen sports a prominent trishul and a Shiv Sena sticker. "It is obviously the work of outsiders." His idol, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, for once refrained from provocative state- ments and publicly said pretty much the same thing. This time around, Bombay's trauma was localised. Except in the affected areas, life went on normally, with shops Explosion near the passport office at Worli: gruesome sight and businesses staying open. There was

46 minimal panic buying of groceries, un- to imported explosives rather than the sparingly. Similarly, Kashmir terrorists like in January, and no discernible trend normally used nitroglycerine. This, in have preferred the remote controlled of emergency cash withdrawals from turn, meant plastic, gelatine or the devices to blast isolated military trucks. banks. Also, a touch of the characteristic American RDX. Most experts veered Even the LITE, which used RDX to Bombay defiance, of not taking things towards plastic, more specifically the C4 assassinate , has usually lying down. variety used in Pakistan, which flows gone in for suicide attacks. Fear and tension are still prevalent, from the United States and West Asia. "It would need a team of at least 10 close to a week since the bombings. But The Indian Army uses the PEK variety, electronics experts, with the nerve and the reaction is a little different this time. but has not reported any large quanti- experience of handling explosives, to "After January, I seriously considered ties missing from its stock. Gelatine is carry out such an operation," says moving out of Bombay," says Mohan locally available but it would have taken B.K. Singh. The transistor bombs that Mahapatra, general manager, market- at least four months to smuggle in ripped through Delhi in 1985 were far ing, with a city-based food products sufficient quantities of the industrial cruder and were assembled by nearly company at Masjid Bunder, who had explosive and the risk of exposure was 200 radio mechanics. The explosive moved out of Ahmedabad two years ago to escape its increasing communali- sation. "But now I've changed my mind. No mad bomber is going to tell me what to do." •

THE INVESTIGATION A PAUCITY OF CLUES HO were the mad bombers? *\nd what was their motive? Whese were the questions that haunted the country as the frantic man- hunt for the bombers slipped into high gear. Inexplicably, no organisation has come forward to claim responsibility for the explosions, as would be expected in a case where the choice of targets indi- cated an aim to create economic destabilisation.However, the very so- phistication of the modus operandi—-at least seven of the blasts were triggered Bomb disposal squad at Worli: groping in the dark by car bombs—and the use of plastic explosive which is not available in India too high, says B.K. Singh, who heads used in Bombay—at least 300 kg would in the quantities used, point to the Delhi's bomb disposal squad. have been required—must have come involvement of an international outfit. Terrorists in Punjab and Kashmir by the sea route. But, say Home Minis- Initial investigations make it clear have used C4 plastic bombs, but never to try sources, it was not a question of that high explosives such as RDX and such effect. The Bombay explosions an Indian group using foreign help. TNT were used and set off by timers. were vastly superior and sophisticated. Alter all, such explosives are not for sale "The use of these explosives and det- That, says explosives expert P.S. and not available. It was more a case of onating mechanisms requires ex- Bhushan, is because the power of the foreigners utilising Indian grievances. tremely sophisticated training and blast can be magnified with proper However, to store such a huge quan- expertise," says police bomb disposal placing such as inside a closed car, tity of explosives, to shelter the whole expert Nandkumar Chaugule. converting the automobile into one team, and to purchase the cars would While forensic reports may provide huge device. "More importantly, they require substantial local assistance and some clues later, bomb experts have knew how to direct the thrust of the massive financing. Further, dry runs begun deciphering the signature explosion exactly where they wanted. would have been conducted for at least a scrawled across every deadly shrapnel. Amateurs normally end up creating week. A pliable Indian connection, This will provide them with clues as to huge craters in the ground, where the hungry for revenge and totally moti- the sophistication of the timers, the power of the device gets expended." vated, would also be required to provide nature of the explosives and the exper- The timer is a delicate mechanism. local assistance and back-up. tise needed to assemble them. Most When an amateur tried to plant a bomb But even the Indian connection police and intelligence sources are em- in Delhi a couple of years ago, he ended must have been of a certain level. Entry phatic that there is no terrorist group in up getting blown up himself. Even the into the BSE basement parking, where the country capable of pulling off such Babbar Khalsa, the only militant group the bomb exploded, is restricted to mem- an operation. in the country that has specialised in the bers who pay Rs 1.5 lakh as deposit to Moreover, the sheer impact pointed use of bombs, has used time devices reserve a single parking slot. The police COVER STORY

taur, a man first signed as 'Gyanchan- dani Lalit', then scored it out and regis- tered himself as 'Sanjeev Rai'. He occupied Room 3078 and was out at the time of the blast. He also paid an advance on checking in. Preliminary investigations show that the handwriting in the three regis- ters do not tally, which indicates that three operatives were used. According to police sources, in two places—Sea Rock and Airport Centaur—they had given the same fictitious address. Meanwhile, the sole suspect picked up for questioning is a Sri Lankan travelling on a fake Turkish passport. The suspect, who was detained one day after the blasts, had changed $1,20,000 at the Oberoi Hotel where he checked in on March 5. He was first arrested on March 6 after he presented forged Amer- ican Express bank traveller's cheques and was later found to be travelling on a forged passport. He was let off on bail. The Air India basement: strategic target While the police withheld details, his remand application said that the Cuffe feel it is unlikely that a BSE member could have been required to check into the Parade police, who arrested him, had be involved. More plausible is the theory three five-star hotels. So far, all the asked their counterparts in Tamil Nadu that the terrorists had infiltrated the BSE investigators have are the names, obvi- to check whether he had links with security system and somehow laid their ously false, in the check-in registers. Tamil extremists. But the fact that he hands on the car stickers that allow Room 1840 of the Sea Rock Hotel was released on bail seems to indicate access. Either way, the terrorist or ac- was booked in the name of a 'Mr that he may not be connected to the complice would have to be able to pose Alvani'. According to the hotel staff, an Bombay blasts. as a wealthy stockbroker. advance of Rs 8,000 was paid on March Shortly after the explosions, the Much the same level of people would 8. He checked in the morning before the police recovered four hand-grenades, blast and had not checked out, but had seven new AK-56 rifles and 14 maga- instead left the hotel taking the room key zines from a maroon Maruti van, MFC with him. 1972, parked near the Worli Century Similarly, at the Bombay Airport Bazaar bomb site. Also recovered from Centaur, 'Ramesh Saxena' checked in the van were two plastic prayer beads, on March 11 around 3:2Op.m. and was two small plastic bottlesfille dwit h water out of the hotel with the key at the time of and labelled "holy water" in Arabic and the blast. He had paid an advance of Rs a packet of dates. But it seems ridiculous 5.100 for the room. At the Juhu Cen- for intelligent and well-trained bombers EXPLOSIVE HISTORY New Delhi, mainly in slum colonies, Padhai (Tamil Nadu Liberation killing 85. An equal number of bombs Troops) was responsible. were defused. The Babbar Khalsa was May 21,1991: Rajiv Gandhi and responsible. 17 others died at Sriperumbudur in June 23, 1985: Air India flight Tamil Nadu when a human bomb, 182, from Toronto to Bombay, ex- Dhanu, triggered the plastic explosive ploded in mid-air and crashed off the RDX, which she carried on her belt. Irish coast, killing all 329 persons on LITE alleged to be behind the hit. August 2, 1984: A bomb ex- board. The bomb was kept in the May 9, 1992: Punjab Minister ploded at Meenambakkam Airport, luggage hold. Pro-Khalistan elements Maninderjit Singh Bitta was attacked Madras, killing 30 and injuring were suspected. in Amritsar with a car bomb parked 37. The Tamil Eelam Army, a small March 15, 1987: The Madras- on the road. The explosion killed 12 Sri Lankan militant group, was Trichy Rockfort Express capsized over and injured Bitta. The explosive used responsible. a blown-up rail bridge about 50 km was 8-10 kg of yellow RDX. Another May 10 and 11,1985: Over from Trichy, 25 were killed and 139 car bomb, which did not explode, was 100 transistor bombs exploded in injured. The Tamil Nadu Viduthalai planted on an alternate route.

48 to leave behind such damaging evi- first floated by Home Minister S.B. senseless. There are any number of dence. Police believe that the van and its Chavan. Bombay's Police Commis- sensitive, densely-populated areas contents could have been set up in a bid sioner A.S. Samra has already pointed which would have provoked an immedi- to point to an Islamic connection. The out that the quantity of explosives ate communal backlash and made the van was traced to Yakub Memon, a would have cost no less than Rs 3 crore, point more forcefully. chartered accountant, who flew to an amount which only secret agencies Terrorists in Punjab are on the run Dubai on the day of the blasts. However, can afford. The Bombay Police is still now. Nor do they have the kind of the van could have been stolen by trying to establish whether or not the organisation and support in Bombay as terrorists. Police are investigating cars in which the bombs were placed they did in Delhi in the wake of the 1984 Memon's antecedents. • were stolen. If stolen, investigators will anti-Sikh riots. They do, however, have run into a dead-end. the international support for financing Investigations have been given a such an operation. But, once again, it boost with the discovery of a new Bajaj would make no sense for them to target THE SUSPECTS scooter whose registration plate points Bombay and financial symbols, when to Thane. It was first spotted standing in their strategy so far has been to attack WHO COULD BE Naigaum, Dadar in Central Bombay on the symbols and representatives of the March 12 by a doctor who has a Government. Moreover, Sikh separatist RESPONSIBLE? dispensary there. At first he thought groups claim immediate responsibility nothing of it but when he returned on for any such acts. In this case, no one has O far, the Government seems to be March 14 to find it still standing, he come forward yet. leaving no stone unturned in its alerted the police, who found it loaded The other obvious terrorist groups Sefforts to track down the bombers. with seven to eight explosives—a mix- are the various Kashmir-based militant By Sunday, March 14, it had already established contact with the intelligence agencies of various countries, including the FBI in the US, Israel's Mossad and Britain's Scotland Yard. Interpol was contacted for help on the day of the bombings and a reply came within 24 hours containing a list of names of mercenaries who have been known to be hired to carry out such acts. The list includes names of people of Lebanese, Pakistani, Egyptian and Sri Lankan origin. Interpol has also provided the photographs and the handwritings of these suspects. These were flown into Bombay on the morning of March 14 where the photographs could be shown to the receptionists of the hotels at Sea Rock and Centaur where the suspects had stayed. The handwriting too will be compared for possible leads. The initial reports compiled by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory es- tablishes that the magnitude was a result of the highly explosive RDX mate- Rajiv Gandhi's assassination at Sriperumbudur: a portent? rial used. The report also establishes that 30 kg of RDX were used at the Air India ture of RDX with chemicals and PETN organisations. So far, however, they and the Bombay Stock Exchange blast (Semtex)—which had been wired to the have not operated outside Kashmir. sites, two places which registered the ignition key. It is being examined for Moreover, they are even quicker off the maximum damage to life and property. fingerprints. mark than their counterparts in Punjab At other sites, 10 kg of RDX was found to The investigations so far lie in the to claim responsibility. have been used. realm of speculation. What the agencies On the basis of pure circumstantial RDX, available mainly in western have started is the process of elimina- evidence, the LITE is one separatist countries, is a safe-to-carry, easy to tion. Soon after the blasts, the initial group which has the expertise, finance, transport, 'low explosive', plastic bomb. suspicion was that they were of a com- foreign contacts and motivation re- Besides, it can be easily smuggled munal nature. But an act of reprisal by quired to pull off such a devastating through on national and international Muslims against the forces of Hindutva attack. It has access to car bombs and flights since it does not show up on X- makes no sense considering the choice high explosives as in the assassination of rays or metal detectors. The forensic of targets. Bombay's Muslims have Rajiv Gandhi, with RDX concealed in a team has also confirmed that the bombs never shown the kind of expertise and belt pouch. They even have a powerful were detonated by timer devices. organisation which marked the March motive, the recent killing of Kittu, one of RDX is also an expensive and diffi- 12 bombings. their top military leaders, during a com- cult-to-attain explosive, two other rea- Similarly, if it was the Hindutva bined operation by the Coast Guard and sons which fit the 'external hand' theory forces, the choice of targets was equally the Indian Navy off the coast of Tamil

MARCH 31, 1993 » INDIA TODAY 49 COVER STORY

Nadu. The LITE had publicly vowed to in the support of aggrieved Bombay extract revenge. Besides, LITE chief Muslims. The serial blasts have been V. Pirabhakaran has been declared a interpreted as a reprisal by Muslim fun- fugitive by the Indian Government and damentalist organisations and the isi in Moment of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case is reply to the violence against Muslims in about to be taken up in court. the recent riots in the country. Home Ministry records accuse the UT several factors undermine that isi of using Indian Muslim fundamental- Reckoning theory. For one, they have gener- ist organisations, mainly the Jamait-e- Bally not been known to operate Islami, to promote terrorism in India. Of HARAD Pawar exuded charac- outside Tamil Nadu and neighbouring late, according to intelligence sources, teristic confidence and energy states. Also, Bombay is certainly not a the isi has being trying to forge links Swhen he returned to Bombay and city where they are well organised. And between the Kashmir and Punjab mili- was sworn in for the fourth time as the why would they choose financial and tants for coordinated operations. A huge chief minister of Maharashtra. Barely a commercial .targets? Currently, they consignment of AK-47 rifles and explo- week later, he appeared tense and have their hands full fighting the Sri sives recovered in Ahmedabad a few shaken as powerful bombs exploded Lankan security forces and, apart from months ago was traced to the Kashmiri with alarming rapidity in different the Kittu incident, they have little rea- militants and was meant for gangs in the parts of the metropolis. The message son to suddenly launch an all-out war Muslim-dominated areas of and was clear in the mass of mangled steel against India. In any event, the orga- Maharashtra. The consignment was and human bodies—the task of restor- nisation is virtually crippled in Tamil seized after the interrogation of an isi- ing peace and stability in the nation's Nadu, its former stronghold and operat- trained militant, Manjit Singh Lalli, who industrial and financial capital will be ing base. had arrived in Bombay under an as- a far greater challenge than Pawar had Thus, by a process of elimination, sumed name, Iqbal Ahmad, and with a anticipated. Just a day before the blasts, the new chief minister had told a gathering of police inspectors and senior officers at the Police Club: "I don't want Beirut replicated in Bombay." The irony is that Bombay, till then reeling under the impact of communal violence, sud- denly became captive to terrorism. While indicating to policemen that he expected a greater degree of profes- sionalism than was evident during the recent riots in the city, he shrewdly announced a scheme of handsome incentives totalling nearly Rs 5 lakh for good performance by both officers and men. He called upon the Bombay Po- lice to work towards four objectives: action against rioters, better crime detection, the removal of the fear psy- chosis that had gripped the city, and the return of the people who had fled due to the recent riots. Sadly, as the spectre of interna- Damaged cars at the Stock Exchange: professional job tional terrorism emerged from the dust of the bomb explosions to haunt an the needle of suspicion has startedpoint- Pakistani passport. already beleaguered city, it was evi- ing unwaveringly at the Inter Services The isi is also believed to have sent dent that the optimism generated in Intelligence (isi), Pakistan's aggressive groups of saboteurs with Pakistani pass- Bombay by Pawar's return may have external intelligence operations wing. ports to India. Lalli, under interroga- been premature. In a matter of Top intelligence and police officials are tion, had spoken about an isi conspiracy months, communal maniacs and then unanimous in suspecting the isi. to hit at vital installations including an terrorists have robbed the throbbing The foundation for their suspicion is atomic plant in India. For quite some metropolis of its vitality. Now Pawar the strong roots that the isi has been able time, the sea route along the Gujarat has to prove himself equal to the task of to cultivate among the Muslim (Kash- coast has become the main conduit for providing leadership and direction at a mir) and Sikh militant groups operating the smuggling of weapons from Paki- time of grave crisis when his mettle as in India. Indian intelligence organi- stan. And Pakistan is the only country the most respected leader in the state is sations have been, for some time, talking which would choose targets deliber- under severe test. about the K2 factor. K2 is a gameplan, ately intended to cripple India's eco- He was in his sixth-floor office at believed to have been launched by the isi, nomic progress. Mantralaya when the first explosion under which it was trying to unite Sikh Further, the car-bomb technique has ripped through the Stock Exchange. and Muslim militants. The isi, it is now been used in Sindh and Karachi. The LSI, An hour later, the floor trembled under being conjectured, could well have roped Indian agencies believe, could be retaliat- ship of the Congress(I) in the state. The sheep had to be brought back under his fold. Said a political confidant: "Pawar's return to Bombay will not affect his chances for prime minis- tership. In fact, if he proves success- ful here, his stock will actually go up further. It is not necessary for you to live in Delhi if you want to become prime minister." Pawar's 26-member ministry pro- claimed his shrewd plan to appease his political rivals and strive for party unity. Though it is dominated by his own supporters, the more controver- sial ones were kept out. At least for the time being. And not only were Delhi loyalists like Ramrao Adik and included, but so were relatives of vehement rivals— Naik's nephew Avinash Naik and Chavan's son . Unlike his lethargic predecessor, immediately after his return from New Delhi, Pawar demonstrated that he Pawar after being sworn in: testing times ahead meant business. Even before he was sworn in, he chaired a meeting of him as another high-intensity car tures of over a hundred Congress(I) secretaries and divisional commission- bomb went off at the nearby Air-India MPs. "Normally a leader puts the ers from districts to assess the problems headquarters. memorandum aside the moment you facing the state. After extricating him- No one was surprised by his quick submit it, but Rao seemed transfixed by self from slogan-shouting, garland- response. He despatched his ministers the long list of signatures,'' maintained wielding supporters who converted his to the explosion sites and hospitals, an avid Pawar supporter. swearing-in ceremony into an election went on television to appeal for unity But others close to him believed rally, Pawar stayed on at the magnifi- and calm, conferred with police and that though outwardly Pawar ap- cent seaside Raj Bhavan to conduct a army officials to ensure communal peared reluctant, he had accepted the wide-ranging examination of the re- peace, devised a compensation pack- new assignment willingly. Some of the cent communal carnage in Bombay. age for the victims and their families, drama was necessary since he had From 8.15 p.m. to 12.10 a.m., the new visited the sites at night and remained promised in 1991, when he resigned as chief minister conducted his first offi- in his office till 1 a.m. The contrast with chief minister and went to Delhi, that cial meeting with top city and state his predecessor was not lost on any- he would never hold a position of police officers. "His objective was one, "The chief minister responded power in Maharashtra again. transparent—to convey to the police with alacrity and immediately sensed top brass that law and order in the the seriousness of the situation," ob- OWEVER, the campaign metropolis is his priority number one,'' served Minister of State Marzban launched by Naik, in alliance later observed a policeman. Patrawala. Hwith rivals like Union Home After the bomb blasts, however, Pawar's return from New Delhi Minister S.B. Chavan, had weakened Bombay appears far more vulnerable after a 20-month stint as Union de- Pawar's base within the State than ever before. Neither Pawar's leg- fence minister had been accompanied Congress(I). Naik's mishandling of the endary skills at political manipulation, by high drama. Prime Minister post-Ayodhya violence had also nor pep talks to the police force, nor Narasimha Rao's unexpected decision shaken the party and given strength to even his ability to react quickly to to send him back to troubled Maha- the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party events will now be enough to stop the rashtra after Sudhakarrao Naik was (BJP) combine. The violence in Bombay city from sinking into an endless spiral asked to resign came as a shock to his in December and January was also a of violence. In the coming months, the supporters. It was seen as a setback to major blow to the commercial vitality new chief minister will have to display Pawar's prime ministerial ambitions, of the metropolis. exceptional qualities of leadership to and a victory for Rao's gameplan to At his first press conference after once again unite Bombay's divided remove all potential challengers from taking over as chief minister, Pawar citizens against the common danger, Delhi. Pawar acolyte and Congress(I) stated: "Even today, there are 15 areas and devise a sophisticated plan to MP Praful Patel declared: "None of us in the city that people are afraid to visit. combat the twin threat of communal is happy with his return to Maha- My first task is to rebuild public con- and terrorist violence. Clearly, Pawar rashtra." A memorandum was sub- fidence in the nation's financial capi- now faces one of the biggest challenges mitted to Rao against Pawar's shifting, tal." It was equally important for of his political career. which reportedly contained signa- Pawar to quickly reassert his leader- —M. RAHMAN COVER STORY

ing against the recent blasts in Sindh, sages to check three ships, coming in against them. "A plastic explosive can which Pakistan claims was the handi- from Holland, Germany and Karachi take the most innocuous shape and it is work of Indian agencies. The motive and respectively which was the last to dock virtually impossible to detect a well- timing being ascribed is that militancy in mid-January. disguised time device," says a top police was ebbing in Punjab and fresh initia- However, Police Commissioner A.S. officer. Most Indian cities are soft tar- tives were being contemplated in Kash- Samra stated in a high level meeting gets. The borders are porous, and the mir. The related conjecture is that it suits with Sharad Pawar and Home Minister grievances that breed the support net- Pakistan to deepen the communal divide Chavan that they had no prior informa- work for bombers, are multiplying. following the demolition of the Babri tion of the impending blasts. There were More frightening is the fact that car Masjid and while Bombay's communal no intelligence reports which even sug- bombs are probably the most horrific wounds are still fresh. Intelligence re- gested that terrorists were planning weapon in the terrorist's arsenal. Its ports had also pointed to an increase in isi anything of such a magnitude. The only profusion and banality is its best camou- activity in Bombay. The former gover- security alert was the usual one issued in flage. No nation in the world, even nor, C. Subramaniam, in fact, had in a the month of Ramzan, taken more seri- advanced countries with terrorist prob- statement once said that Pakistan was ously this time because of the recent lems, have been able to counter the use moving arms into Bombay from Karachi. riots in Bombay. But even that proved of car bombs effectively. The IRA has But all these conjectures will, by defini- tion, remain purely tentative until the Government acquires conclusive evidence. •

THE FUTURE ERA OF FEAR AND PARANOIA ACED with the lack of hard evi- dence, the isi theory is the most Fconvenient one for the Indian Gov- ernment to float. It not only deflects attention from the magnitude of the act and its consequences but provides the Government with a rallying point. If the theory gains ground, as media reports suggest, the country—and opposition parties—will tend to converge behind the Narasimha Rao Government. Until the investigations prove otherwise, the All that can be done to prevent car bombing is tighten up security Pakistan hand will clearly prove a handy political tool. ineffective in the face of the serial bombs. used them with virtual impunity on the The obvious question, in the light of As Samra said, the blasts were not a sign streets of London and the one in New the havoc wreaked in Bombay, is of a police intelligence failure but evi- York earlier this month shattered Amer- whether there was a massive security dence that the operation was so well- ican confidence. failure. Such a well-planned and elabo- planned and executed. In Colombo, where car bombs have rate operation involving the stealing or Though belated security mea- caused such devastation, security mea- buying of at least seven vehicles, smug- sures—like the screening of courier sures include the screening of cars enter- gling in approximately 40 kg of high packets and tightened security at air- ing public places such as shopping cen- explosives, rehearsals, local recruit- ports—have been enforced, the fear is tres, government buildings and hotels. ments, should have produced some hint that March 12 is not the end of the terror. Portable mirrors are passed under the of impending trouble. Some Bombay Because no organisation has claimed cars to look for hidden devices while Police officials insist that an alert was responsibility, the identity and motive of luggage compartments are physically sounded. "During the last month we the terrorists has been shrouded in examined. No cars are allowed to park in had given a number of alerts that uncertainty and foreboding. There are the porch area, the opposite of what Pakistan's isi was trying to send in arms even theories in some intelligence and happens in most Indian hotels. and trying to create trouble," says a diplomatic quarters that suggest the The Bombay bombings reveal a defi- senior CID official, adding; "We had implication of West Asian countries, nite pattern, the choice of high-profile, alerted the Coastguard and Customs angered at what they see as a pogrom crowded commercial targets and monu- about this. After the alerts, container against Indian Muslims. ments to India's economic strength like checks have been going on at sea ports. Even so, the implications of the serial the BSE and five-star hotels where a All containers on ships were checked— bombings are chilling for the country majority of tourists stay or even Air it took a month to do this." and its security agencies. If such exper- India, the best-known international The officials point out that in the tise and type of explosives have arrived symbol of the country. If the strategy is last year, they received specific mes- in India, there is virtually no defence to scare away foreign investors and

INDIA TODAY * MARCH 31. 1993 undermine India's economy and its in- That, unfortunately, is easier said intelligence agencies when Parliament ternational image, the terrorists have than done. Guarding against such acts reopens. It could also go to the extent partly succeeded. As industrialist of terrorism will require a superhuman of demanding the Government's resig- Aditya Birla says: "Industry certainly effort and a huge financial outlay, apart nation. Says party Vice-President cannot thrive in a situation of uncer- from the political resolve required. With K.R. Malkani: "It is a weak government tainty and lawlessness." Chavan and Pilot at loggerheads and incapable of handling a Bombay-type But barely days after the blasts, Narasimha Rao under growing political situation. It must go." Bombay was limping back to near- pressure from the BJP as well as dissi- Moreover, if a Pakistan involvement normalcy and frenetic efforts were un- dents within his own party, the omens is detected, the BJP will step up its derway to get the BSE operative as soon are not exactly favourable. campaign to destabilise the Govern- as possible. The Government's resolve ment and push for retaliation, even an appeared equally resilient and the offers HE good news is that, for the armed conflict. High-level military of help from major western countries moment at least, there seems to be sources say that the country is in no seemed to indicate that the economic Ta move to sink political differences position to indulge in an armed con- setback may not be as disastrous as in the face of what is a national crisis. frontation with Pakistan at this stage. originally feared. Says BJP President MurliManoharJoshi: The resource crunch may have affected HEMANT PITHWA

Rao and Pawar at the Stock Exchange after the blast: political vulnerability

But that could only be an invitation "The Bombay blasts are not a Hindu- both sides but the Indian Army's hard- for yet more terrorist attacks. Police Muslim problem; it is a national issue." ware and strategic planning has been officials admit that until some solid Echoes CPI(M) leader in the Lok Sabha hit the hardest. With Pakistan's nuclear clues emerge—or luck favours them, as SomnathChatterjee: "We should jointly capabilities, a military adventure could was the case in the New York bomb- try to stop India from becoming a play- prove costly. ing—there is little they can do except ground for international terrorism." Even more so given the economic tighten up security in obvious areas. Even Congress(I) dissidents like Natwar instability introduced by the Bombay Police officials suggest a two-pronged Singh, K.N. Singh, B.P. Maurya and bombings, however temporary it may strategy to deal with the threat. One, Sheila Dixit have issued a joint prove. That, coupled with the looming breaking the organisational base of the statement stating that "each one of us threat of political instability, could prove terrorist outfits. Two, strengthening should unitedly help to strengthen the to be more destructive than the bombs ground-level security. "The need is to hands of the Maharashtra and the Cen- which, for one fiery day, turned Bombay develop a ground-level highly-expert tral Governments". into Beirut. intelligence network which can But how long such spirit will last is DILIP BOBB with HARINDER BAWEJA, sensitise the security agencies about anybody's guess. The BJP is already SUDEEP CHAKRAVARTI, ARUN KATIYAR, such terrorist attacks,'' says a high-level planning to demand that the Centre LEKHA RATTANANI, DAKSESH PARIKH and intelligence operative. issue a statement about the 'failure' of RAHUL PATHAK

MARCH 31, 1995 * INDIA TODAY 53