Bowbazaar bomb blast 1993

Bowbazaar bomb blast was a bomb blast incident which occurred in the central business district of Bowbazar in the Indian metro city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) on the midnight of 16 March, 1993. The blast claimed the lives of 45 people which later increased to 69 and leaving scores of people injured.[1][2] Two residential apartments collapsed due the explosion.

Initially, media reports suggested that this blast incident was connected to the Bombay Serial Blast, which occurred just 4 days before. However, these reports were dismissed.

According to some witnesses, the intensity of the blasts were so high that the sounds of explosions can be heard till 3 miles away.

Background

In 1993, Mohammed Rashid Khan, a local gambling don ran criminal business in Bowbazaar area. He had a secret workshop above his office to make small bombs and explosives. After the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the riots that followed, Khan, along with his Muslim brothers made plans to bomb parts of the city to kill Hindus residing in the city. So he began stocking up huge amounts of explosives. Preparations were made secretly until on midnight of 16 March, the entire stock blew up accidentally. Had the blast occurred in the daytime, the death toll would have been more. Also if Khan managed to succeed in his plans, then huge number of people would have died to the serial bombings. [3]

Aftermath

The prime accused, Khan and five others were sentenced to life imprisonment under Terrorist And Disruptive (Prevention) Act (TADA) in 2001 by Calcutta High Court. In 2015, the State Government, under Mamata Banerjee planned to release Khan, then 62 years due to his good conduct in prison.[4]

See also

References
  1. "45 feared dead in Calcutta bomb attack". The Independent. 17 March 1993. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  2. Gargan, Edward A. (17 March 1993). "Blast in Calcutta Kills at Least 45". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. Vadukut, Sidin (31 July 2015). "Déjà View | Relative magnitudes". Livemint.
  4. Konar, Debasish. "State plans to release Bowbazar blast convict | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 June 2020.


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