2006 Varanasi bombings

2006 Varanasi bombings
Location	Varanasi, India
Date	7 March 2006 18:20 IST (UTC+05:30)
Target	Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station
Attack type	Bombing
Deaths	28
Non-fatal injuries	101
Perpetrators	Lashkar-e Kahar/Qahab

7 March 2006 Varanasi bombings Casualties
Place	Deaths	Injured	Sources
Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple blast	10	40	(Rediff)
Varanasi railway station blast	5	20	(Rediff)

The 2006 Varanasi bombings were a series of bombings that occurred across the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in India on Tuesday, 7 March 2006. At least 28 people are reported to have been killed and as many as 101 others were injured.

The blasts occurred nearly simultaneously shortly after 18:00 IST. The first blast took place at 18:20 at the crowded Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple near the Banaras Hindu University. Hundreds of pilgrims were in temple as it was a Tuesday, believed to be particularly holy by the devotees of Hanuman, a deity at the temple. The bomb was placed in a container near a gate at the temple where women usually sit.

One other blast followed at the Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station – It occurred in the waiting area next to the travel office. Initially another blast was reported inside the stationary Shivganga Express bound for Delhi; however, this was later discounted. (The Shivganga express departure was delayed by 2 hours, eventually arriving in Delhi 4 hours late but intact). Six bombs were reported defused from other areas in the city, including a restaurant frequented by foreigners, in the vicinity of the railway station.

It is conjectured that the date and time of the explosions was selected for causing maximum damage. The CBSE and ISC Examinations (India's school leaving examinations) were in progress and therefore there were many students and worshippers at the temple when the bombs exploded during the Aarti ceremony. Tuesday was also a holy day of the deity at the temple. It is further conjectured that the bomb at the railway station was orchestrated to coincide with the throng of passengers waiting for Shiv Ganga express.

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit, whose member was shot dead in an encounter with police near Lucknow on Wednesday, were prima facie behind the blasts in Varanasi, a senior Uttar Pradesh government official said in Varanasi on Wednesday.

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