Incident Summary:
2/28/2009: On Saturday, 60 assailants bombed the Bhalulata Railway Station near Rourkela and abducted two railway officials, including the station master of another railway station, in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district. The Maoists, several of them women, used landmines and powerful explosives. The station building was nearly destroyed. Train services on the Tatanagar-Rourkela route, under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway, and train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route were interrupted due to the attacks. No one was injured in the explosion. On 20090301, the victims were released. No group claimed responsibility, but it was widely believed the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was responsible.
Overview
GTD ID:
200902280009
When:
2009-02-28
Country:
India
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Orissa
City:
Near Rourkela
Location Details:
The attack took place near Rourkela, Sundargarh.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Transportation |
Name of Entity |
Bhalulata Railway Station |
Specific Description |
The Bhalulata Railway Station |
Nationality of Target |
India |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
2 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Days of Kidnapping |
1 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Land Mine |
Explosives |
Unknown Explosive Type |
Weapon Details |
Landmines and other unknown explosives were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
The available sources listed the number of perpetrators for this attack from 60 to 70, and because no majority figures were reported, the lowest proferred perpetrator figures were used in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. The attack would also be coded as IED definitely not because landmines were also used in the attack. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
60 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Indiaexpress, Debabrata Mohanty, "Maoists Blow up Rly Station in Orissa," http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-blow-up-rly-station-in-orissa/429322/ (March 01, 2009). |
National Counterterrorism Center, "Two Railway Employees Kidnapped by Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist in Sundargarh, Orissa, India," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, December 11, 2009. |
National Counterterrorism Center, "One Railway Station Damaged in Bombing by Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist in Sundargarh, Orissa, India" Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, December 11, 2009. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties