Akshardham Temple attack
| 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 |
| Weapons | Grenade, AK-47 |
| Deaths | 33 (including the perpetrators) |
| Injured | 79 |
| Perpetrators | 2, names unknown |
The Akshardham Temple attack (or Akshardham Temple siege) occurred on September 25 2002 when two heavily armed Muslim 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 right away. Then muslim terrorists began throwing grenades into the devotees at the temple. 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 died after about 2 years of being in coma fighting death.
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 terrorists.