2006 Mumbai train bombings

2006 Mumbai train bombings, terror attack in the form of serial blasts carried out on the Suburban Railway network (often referred to as “local trains”) in Mumbai on July 11, 2006. Seven coordinated explosions occurred on local trains over roughly 11 minutes during the evening rush hour, killing 189 people and injuring more than 800. Mumbai, which is situated on the Arabian Sea coastline in Maharashtra state, has been the target of multiple terror attacks since the 1990s. These include a series of bombings in 1993 and attacks on landmark buildings in 2008.

Mumbai’s lifeline train system

The metropolis of Mumbai, which stretches from north to south along a peninsula, has traditionally been regarded as India’s financial capital. While contemporary Mumbai has been developed and expanded toward the north and east to facilitate the city’s increasing commercial activity, its original financial and business districts are in the southern neighborhoods of Nariman Point and Fort. Commuters using the local trains from these areas are served by the Churchgate station, the southern terminus of the Suburban Railway’s Western line. The Mumbai locals, as the trains of the Suburban Railway are popularly called, form a crucial artery of public transportation in Mumbai. An estimated seven million commuters use the local trains each day.

Eleven minutes of devastation

Seven bombs were placed in first-class compartments of trains proceeding north from Churchgate station about 6 pm. The first two explosions occurred shortly after 6:20 pm on trains that had pulled into the Mahim and Bandra stations. Five more bombs exploded on different trains as they pulled into or neared the Mira Road, Matunga, Khar, Jogeshwari, and Borivali stations. The blasts ripped through the train compartments, spreading wreckage across the tracks and platforms. The death toll was initially reported as at least 147; it eventually rose to 189. In a media briefing after the attacks, Indian authorities revealed that the bombs were made of RDX and ammonium nitrate placed in pressure cookers to maximize the blast impact and were detonated using quartz timers.

Aftermath

The immediate repercussions of the blasts gravely tested Mumbai’s emergency response and rehabilitation systems; hospitals, in particular, were overwhelmed. The Western train line was shut down, stringent security measures—such as jamming of mobile phone networks—were implemented, and the police and airports in all major Indian cities were placed on high alert. Rescue operations were hampered by rain (Mumbai is subject to heavy downpours and flooding in the monsoon season), and civilians volunteered to help official efforts. In a display of resilience, however, Mumbai quickly returned to a semblance of normalcy. The Western line resumed service by the next morning amid precautionary measures across the Suburban Railway network. The Bombay Stock Exchange functioned as usual, and stock indices rose the day after the blasts.

On July 18, 2006, India observed two minutes of silence in tribute to the victims of the bombings, led by Pres. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Mumbai witnessed an intense outpouring of grief and commemoration. About 6:25 pm, roughly the time of the attacks a week earlier, sirens were sounded across the city. Candles were lit, and wreaths were laid at the sites of the blasts. Traffic came to a halt, and cinemas paused screenings. A memorial was erected at Mahim station, where tributes are paid each year on the anniversary of the bombings.

Security protocols at all railway stations across India were increased as a direct consequence of the serial blasts. The national Ministry of Railways announced that only passengers would be allowed onto station platforms, in addition to other measures such as the installation of closed-circuit television systems and metal detectors and frequent checks by canine squads.

Political reactions

Political leaders in India and outside made statements in response to the serial blasts. The bombings were condemned by Pakistan, which has shared a tense relationship with India since they were created as separate countries by the partition of British India in 1947. The United Kingdom also reacted strongly—the U.K had been the target of a similar terror act in July 2005, when suicide bombers detonated explosives on London’s underground trains and a bus, killing 52 and injuring more than 700.

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In a televised address on July 12, 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said:

Mumbai stands tall once again as the symbol of a united India. An inclusive India. Let me say, no one can make India kneel. No one can come in the path of our progress. The wheels of our economy will move on.

A statement from Pakistan’s foreign office read:

Pakistan strongly condemns the series of bomb blasts on commuter trains in Mumbai, India. This despicable act of terrorism has resulted in the loss of a large number of precious lives.

The U.K’s foreign secretary William Hague said:

These were deplorable acts of terrorism. The U.K. stands firmly with India in the face of such atrocities.

Investigation, trial, and verdict

Investigations were conducted by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai police, who arrested 13 men between July and October 2006. Some allegedly belonged to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI; an organization banned by the Indian government). Charges filed by the ATS in November 2006 alleged that 4 of the 13 men were Pakistani and had entered India illegally. The ATS also alleged that the Indian men among the 13 accused had posed as Shiʿah pilgrims to Iran and instead traveled to Pakistan for training. It named the Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations, India, and other countries, including the United States) as having masterminded the bombings and provided arms and training to the accused men. The ATS charges, however, featured a notable omission: They did not specify the use of pressure cookers in the deployment of the bombs.

The 13 men were prosecuted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in an arduous trial that lasted eight years. There were several complications: In 2008–9 the crime branch of the Mumbai police arrested five members of an obscure group called the Indian Mujahideen (IM), who had claimed responsibility for the bombings; in 2010 Shahid Azmi, a lawyer for the defense, was fatally shot; and in 2018 the Delhi police said that yet another man (with links to both SIMI and IM) was also involved in the blasts. The 13 men arrested in 2006 alleged that the ATS had obtained confessions from them using torture. The inconsistency in the charges regarding pressure cookers featured in court proceedings, as the prosecution could not provide a lucid account of how the bombs had been assembled. Finally, during the concluding round of arguments in 2014, the prosecution told the MCOCA court that “pressure cookers were indeed used to carry out explosions on seven trains on July 11, 2006.”

In September 2015 the MCOCA court delivered its verdict: 12 of the 13 men were found guilty on charges of waging war against India, conspiracy, and murder. The 13th was acquitted. Of the 12 convicted, 5 (those accused of planting the bombs) were given a death sentence, and 7 (those accused of providing tactical and logistical support) were sentenced to life in prison. As of 2025 the death sentences had not been carried out because of delays in the legal process, primarily the Maharashtra government’s failure to appoint a special public prosecutor for appeals to the high court. In January 2025 the Bombay high court finally heard appeals from the 12 convicted men, who have been in prison since their arrests in 2006.