On This Day in 2011: Three Blasts in 11 Minutes at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar Rock Mumbai

It was a usually busy evening in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, when a series of blasts shook the city. There were tragic scenes at various locations of India’s financial capital after the three coordinated bomb explosions within minutes. The blast at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar between 6:54 and 7:05 PM was a ghastly reminder of the 2008 terror attacks at the Taj Hotel.

The first of three bombs exploded in Zaveri Bazaar, a popular market for diamond traders, where it was planted on a parked motorcycle. Before Mumbai could even realize anything, the second bomb planted in a tiffin box exploded in the Opera House.

Barely 10 minutes later the third bomb, planted on an electric pole of a bus stand in a school in Dadar, exploded. The blasts left 26 dead and over 130 sustained serious injuries.

Agencies started the investigation from all angles exploring the possibility of a foreign hand in the attacks. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in August 2011, suggested the home-grown terror module could be behind explosions.

Later, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a person who the agency claimed had stolen the two-wheeler used for the attacks on Zaveri Bazaar. CCTV footage of the incident showed the accused stealing the parked motorcycles.

Mumbai Police arrested two more suspects from Bihar’s Darbhanga district.

The police claimed that Yasin Bhatkal, the co-founder of the Indian Mujaheddin, was behind the terror attacks. A chargesheet in the case was filed in May 2012. Another accused who was said to be behind the funding for the attacks was arrested at the Dabolim Airport in Goa in 2014.

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