2005 Delhi serial blasts: Reliving horrific terror attack which left National Capital shaken

A local court on Thursday pronounced its verdict in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts case, which left more than 60 people dead on October 29, 2005. The court has held Tariq Ahmed Dar guilty, while acquitted accused Mohammed Rafiq Shah and Mohammed Hussain Fazili of all charges.

With Diwali just two days away, shopper in the National capital flocked to markets to buy their goodies ahead of the Festival of lights on October 29, 2005. The city was engulfed with a festive spirit till 5.30 pm when terrorists pulled of a series of blasts, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction.

The first blast took place at 5.38 pm in front of the Chhah Tooti Chowk in Paharganj’s Nehru Market. The market was full of Diwali shoppers when the bomb took place near a jewellery shop.

As per police reports, those who were near the bomb were blown to pieces. Windows were shattered, doors and pillars collapsed. Raghunath Sikka, who ran a cosmetic shop, just across the blast site had a heart attack. Several people charred in the flames that erupted after the blast.

Just as the city tried to recoup with the first blast, another Fourteen minutes later, at 5.52pm, Budh Prakash the conductor of a Bahri Mudrika (DTC buses than run on the Outer Ring Road route noticed a suspicious bag lying under a seat near Okhla Phase I, Govindpuri. There were nearly 50 passengers with him in the bus. He immediately alerted driver Kuldeep Singh and asked him to stop the bus. Showing exemplary acts of courage displayed Singh picked up the bag and it went off as he was throwing it away. Singh suffered severe burns and lost his eyesight.

Though Singh was able to save several lives in Okhla, the deadliest of the bombs went off four minutes later at 5.56 pm at Sarojini Nagar one of the favourite shopping destinations in Delhi. It was here that the maximum casualties, 37, were reported. Police said the bomb was hidden inside a bag left near a juice-cum-chaat stall.

A boy noticed the bag and picked it up and was asking around whose bag it was. 

The bomb went off, blowing up the boy. The intensity of the blast was such that some buildings around the blast spot developed cracks. It also triggered a fire, leading to a cylinder going off which further aggravated the fire. Local shopkeepers said it was like people were walking in flames.

Also Read: 2005 Delhi serial blasts: Tariq Ahmed Dar held guilty, sentenced to 10 years in jail; 2 accused acquitted

Most of the burns patients were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in central Delhi. There was so much chaos at the hospital that the police had to close the gate to keep the onlookers out. Inside the hospital compound, PCR vans and ambulances were rushing in one after another. Sixty-eight persons injured in the Sarojini Nagar and Govindpuri blasts were rushed to Safdarjung, while 29 were taken to AIIMS.
67 people succumbed to injuries in the attack and more than 200 others were injured in the three blasts.

Later in May 2005, twin blasts had rocked the Liberty and Satyam Cinema halls.