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On 8 September 2006 a series of blasts took place in Malegaon, a town in the Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, located at 22°33'N, 74°32'E, some 290 km to the northeast of state capital Mumbai.
The explosions caused the deaths of at least 37 people and injured over 125 more. The blasts took place in a Muslim cemetery, adjacent to a mosque, at around 13:15 local time after Friday prayers on the Shab e Bara'at holy day.
Security forces have spoken of "two bombs attached to bicycles". A stampede ensued after the devices exploded. A curfew was imposed in the town and state paramilitaries were deployed in in sensitive areas to prevent unrest.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has promised compensation payments of ₨1,00,000 (approx. €1700 or US$2150) to the next-of-kin of the deceased. Links to Hindu fundamentalist party Bajrang Dal are suspected due to prior similar modus operandi.
Reactions to the Bombings
The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and has appealed for calm.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil promised the government would deal firmly with the "terrorists" behind the attack.
"The main design is not only to injure and kill innocent people... but to see that different sections of society clash and create more difficulties, more turmoil and more bloody situations."
A home ministry official in Delhi said central security forces, including personnel from the anti-riot Rapid Action Force, were being sent to Malegaon.
US ambassador David Mulford said he was "shocked and saddened by the brutal terrorist bombings" and that the US stood "with India in its fight against terrorism".
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