Akshardham Temple attack

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Akshardham Temple attack
Location	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Date	Tuesday, September 24-25 2002 4:45p.m.–6:45a.m. (IST)
Target	Akshardham (Gandhinagar)
Attack type	massacre, mass murder, religious violence
Weapon(s)	Grenade, AK-47
Death(s)	33 (including the perpetrators)
Injured	79
Perpetrator(s)	2, names unknown

v • d • e Insurgent attacks in India (since 2001) Attacks with 50+ deaths in bold 2001: Indian Parliament – Srinagar – 2002: 1st Raghunath Temple – Akshardam Temple – Kolkata – Kaluchak massacre – Qasimnagar massacre – Rafiganj train – 2nd Raghunath Temple – Mumbai 2002 – Kurnool train – 2003: 1st Mumbai 2003 – 2nd Mumbai 2003 – 3rd Mumbai 2003 – 2005: Ayodhya – Delhi 2005 – Jaunpur train – 2006: Varanasi – Jama Masjid – Doda massacre – Mumbai 2006 – Malegaon – West Bengal train – 2007: Samjhauta Express – Mecca Masjid – Hyderabad – Uttar Pradesh – 2008: Jaipur – Bangalore – Ahmedabad – 1st Delhi 2008 – 2nd Delhi 2008 – Malegaon/Modasa – Agartala – Imphal – Assam – Mumbai 2008 – 2009: 1st Guwahati – 2nd Guwahati – 2010: Pune

The Akshardham Temple attack or Akshardham Temple siege occurred on September 25, 2002 when two heavily armed terrorists arrived at the Akshardham Monument in Gandhinagar, the capital of Western Gujarat state in India at around 1630 hrs local time. They scaled the perimeter fence and opened fire, killing a woman and a temple volunteer immediately. About 600 devotees were in the temple at the time. By the end of the attack, 29 devotees were killed and another 79 devotees wounded. Apart from the 25 people killed in the first assault, 1 state police officer and 1 commando also died in the action. One more seriously injured commando Surjan Singh Bhandari who died after nearly 2 years of being in a coma.

Around 50 people were trapped inside the building and quick action of the volunteers in the temple denied the attackers access to people inside. The National Security Guard (NSG) commandos commonly called 'black cats' intervened to end the siege in an operation called vajra shakti. All 50 trapped personnel were rescued and released after identity checks. Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS, requested mercy for these Muslim extremists.

[edit] See also

• List of hostage crises
• Akshardham (Gandhinagar)
• Allegations of state terrorism committed by Pakistan

[edit] External links

• Temple website