The Deadliest Terror Attacks In India

10. 1998 Coimbatore Bombings

On February 14, 1998, the Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu, India, witnessed a horrific series of bombings that resulted in 58 casualties and left around 200 injured. 12 bomb attacks affected 11 places in the city. The explosives were set off from various locations like cars, bicycles, bags, fruit carts, etc. Many other bombs were detonated by the Army, NSG, and commandos. The investigation following the bombings revealed that an Islamic fundamentalist body was behind the attacks. The bombings were believed to be in retaliation to the former riots in Coimbatore that resulted in the death of 18 Muslims. 

9. 2008 Jaipur Bombings

On May 13, 2008, one of the most popular tourist destinations in India became the site of one of the worst terrorist attacks in India. On this day, nine bombs blasted throughout the city within a span of only 15 minutes. The bombs exploded near some of the historic monuments of the city like the Hawa Mahal which serve as tourist hotspots. The terror attacks in Jaipur claimed the lives of 63 people and injured 216 more. The entire world condemned the attacks. Investigations indicated that Bangladeshi militants were behind the attacks.

8. 2007 Samjhauta Express Bombings

On February 18, 2007, 68 lives were lost when bombs were set off on the Samjhauta Express, a train that connected Delhi in India to Lahore in Pakistan. The explosions happened near the Panipat city of India. Although most of the victims were Pakistani civilians, Indian nationals and three railway policemen were also killed. The government of both India and Pakistan condemned the attack and believed it to be crime meant to disrupt the improving relations between the two nations at that time. However, no terror group claimed responsibility for the attack and investigations have also not revealed any conclusive evidence against any particular terrorist organization.

7. 2005 Delhi Bombings

On October 29, 2005, Delhi witnessed one of the worst terror attacks in India when three explosions in the city claimed the lives of 62 people and injured around 210 others. The explosions were triggered in two busy market areas in central and south Delhi and inside a bus in Govindpuri. Investigators considered the  Lashkar-e-Taiba, a separatist/ Islamic terrorist group based in Kashmir, responsible for the attacks.

6. 2008 Assam bombings

On October 30, 2008, as many as 18 bombs went off in Guwahati city of Assam and surrounding areas killing 81 people and injuring 470 others. Cars and motorbikes were used to plant the bombs and the attacks were well timed as the entire series of bombs blasted within a span of only 15 minutes.

5. 1991 Punjab killings 

In a very horrific terror attack in India, Sikh militants killed a large number of passengers traveling on two trains in Punjab’s Ludhiana district. The unfortunate state of events happened on June 17, 1991. Two trains were stopped by the militants near the Ludhiana city. The militants stopped the trains by pulling emergency cords triggering emergency brakes. They then opened fire on the innocent passengers, taking all by great shock. Eyewitnesses on one train claimed that the militants selected only Hindus for killing while the Sikhs were spared while on the other train passengers were shot indiscriminately. After the terrorists fled, the trains reached the nearest station where medical and emergency aid arrived to help the injured passengers recover. Later that year, a similar incident was repeated when Sikh militants once more 49 killed passengers, mostly Hindus, traveling on a train between Ludhiana and Ferozepur. 

4. 2002 Rafiganj Rail Disaster

The Rafiganj Rail Disaster was a terror attack that claimed the lives of 130 people. The incident took place on a rail bridge over North-central India’s Dhave River when a train derailed due to sabotage by the Naxalites, a Maoist terror group active in the region. At around 10:40 pm on September 10, 2002, the high-speed Rajdhani Express derailed while moving on a 300-foot bridge over the Dhave River. The train was moving from Howrah in West Bengal to New Delhi with 1,000 people on board. Fifteen of the train cars fell off the tracks including two that went over the bridge and into the river below. The crash also threw many passengers into the water. Although the military and locals worked hard to rescue as many people as possible, little could be done to save those who were in the coaches that drowned in the swollen river. Although official reports state that 130 people died in the incident, several other people went missing.

3. 2008 Mumbai attacks

Also known as the 26/11 terror attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks involved a series of attacks in Mumbai carried out by the Pakistan-based Islamic militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. The well-co-ordinated terror attacks spread out throughout four days and involved 12 separate bombing and shooting attacks. Eight of these attacks occurred in South Mumbai, affecting the affluent sections and important landmarks of the city. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, Nariman House, Metro Cinema, St. Xavier's College, Cama Hospital, Taj Palace & Tower, Oberoi Trident, and some other locations in the city. The Government of India held militants from Pakistan responsible for the horrific events in Mumbai. On January 7, 2009, Pakistan confirmed that the sole surviving terrorist convicted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks was a Pakistani citizen. The attack claimed the lives of 171 citizens and injured many more.

2. 2006 Mumbai Train Bombings

The suburban rail network of Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is one of the busiest in the country with thousands of passengers using the trains of this network to travel between their homes and workplaces. Thus, the trains served as an ideal target for terrorists on July 11, 2006, when serial blasts conducted on these trains claimed the lives of 209 people and injured over 700. Seven bombs were triggered within a period of 11 minutes started at 18:24 IST. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers to maximize their impact. The trains plying on the Western line during the after-office rush hours served as the targets of this terror incident. Islamic militants backed by Pakistan were claimed to be behind this attack but the country denied such allegations.

^{1. 1993 Bombay Bombings}

India witnessed her worst terror attack on March 12, 1993, when 257 lives were lost during the series of 12 bombings in Bombay, India. 717 people were also injured during this incident. The Don of an organized crime syndicate based in Mumbai, Dawood Ibrahim, is claimed to have co-ordinated the attacks in revenge for riots in Mumbai where a number of Muslim lives were lost following the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya. The first of the series of bombings happened in the basement of the Bombay Stock Exchange that damaged the building quite severely and claimed 50 lives in the area. This incident happened around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. Next, about half an hour later, another bomb blast occurred in the vicinity of the Mandvi Branch Corporation Bank. 10 more explosions followed till 3:40 pm. Most involved car bombs while a few were triggered inside parked scooters. Suitcase bombs were triggered in three of the city hotels by perpetrators who had booked rooms to leave behind the bombs. Bombs also exploded in busy market areas like the Zaveri Bazaar, Katha Bazaar, Century Bazaar, Sena Bhavan, Sahar International Airport, Fishermen's Colony, and Plaza Theatre, etc. 

Lists of the other deadly terror attacks in India arranged by the number of deaths caused by the attack is present below: