Bombs planted in tiffin boxes exploded within minutes of each other at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House, and Dadar in central Mumbai, striking during the crowded evening rush. The attacks, later attributed to the Indian Mujahideen, killed 26 people and injured over 130, reviving painful memories of the 2008 terror siege and exposing gaps in the city's post-2008 security apparatus.
Just after 6:54 PM, as monsoon rain slicked the streets and markets filled with shoppers, three explosions ripped through some of Mumbai's busiest commercial districts within a span of roughly twelve minutes. The Zaveri Bazaar blast hit a jewelry market packed with customers; the Opera House explosion struck near a diamond trading hub; and the Dadar bombing detonated close to a flower market and bus stop.
Investigators later determined the bombs had been assembled using ammonium nitrate and planted inside ordinary tiffin lunch boxes, hidden in plain sight amid the city's dense foot traffic. The scale of casualties, while lower than the 2008 attacks that killed over 160 people, reignited public anger over perceived security lapses given the massive investments made in CCTV networks and policing after that earlier atrocity.
Indian authorities eventually linked the bombings to the Indian Mujahideen, a homegrown militant network with alleged ties to Pakistan-based groups, though prosecutions dragged on for years. For Mumbai residents, the attack became another grim entry in a decade-long litany of urban terrorism that tested the city's famous resilience.