Thousands of people took to the streets of Mumbai on Wednesday to demand that India’s leaders do more to protect them from extremists, exactly a week after the deadly attacks on the city.
Large, vocal crowds chanting “we want justice” gathered around the Gateway of India monument, opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel that was one of the sites hit by militants.
At least 188 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a 60-hour stand-off between 10 heavily-armed Islamist extremists and security forces in what the media here have dubbed “India’s 9/11”.
Protesters, some holding up placards saying “enough is enough”, ranged in age from teenagers to people in their 70s, an Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene said.
Many were middle-class residents who said it was the first time they had taken part in a public demonstration.
“We’ve come to show our solidarity against the apathy of the government and we want the government to change and be proactive and not lazy,” Abiti Phoksey, a 64-year-old woman who runs an upholstery business, said.
“They have a duty towards the nation.”
The rally was organised largely through text message, with SMSs calling for “non cooperative movement” to show political leaders that they should do more to ensure national security.
A series of intelligence failings have been highlighted in recent days, including revelations that India was warned about a possible terror strike on Mumbai by sea several months ago.
The militants arrived in the city by boat last Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Indian police on Wednesday discovered and defused explosives at Mumbai’s main railway station, left by the militants who struck the city last week.
“This is part of the same consignment which the terrorists had brought on Wednesday night when they were attacking and running helter-skelter, some of the material had been left behind,” anti-terrorism chief KP Raghuvashi said.
The situation was “under control” and a bomb disposal unit had defused the devices, he said.
The explosives were similar to others left by the militants elsewhere in the city during the attacks, reports said.
Indian television quoted police sources as saying that “improvised explosive devices” were found among baggage that belonged to victims gunned down when Islamist militants launched attacks across the city last Wednesday night.
They were similar to devices found outside the Taj Mahal and Oberoi/Trident hotels and Leopold’s cafe, three of the main targets of the attacks that left 188 people dead and about 300 injured.
They appeared to have been left “in the hope that they would go off later”, the television quoted police as saying. — AFP