1st Ghatkopar Bus Bombing
Location:- Mumbai, India
Date:- December 6, 2002
Attack type:- Bombing
Deaths:- 3
Injured :- 32
At 18:45 hrs on 6 December 2002 a bomb placed under a seat of an empty B.E.S.T. bus no. 416 exploded near the busy Ghatkopar station. The bomb was placed in the rear of an empty bus parked near the station and killed 2 people and injured 28. There were no passengers in the bus at that time and the people who were killed were those present in the busy station area.The bombing occoured on the 10th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
This is the first in a series of five bombings against the city within a period of eight months. Other bombings include.
The police had rounded up a group of 8 Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)activists, including Dr.Abdul Mateen, Khwaja Yunus, Zaheer Shaikh, Altaf Shaikh, Muzammil Shaikh. Notably, all the accused were well educated. Mateen was a doctor of forensics at J.J.hospital, Muzammil Shaikh an electronic engineer.
They were all booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act(POTA).
This was the same case in which Khawaja Yunus, a software engineer, was picked up & later allegedly killed in custody. All eight who tried were acquitted by a special MCOCA court due to lack of evidence. The state has now filled an appeal against the judgement in Bombay high court.
