2005 Indian Institute of Science shooting

The administrative department of the Indian Institute of Science.

The December 2005 IISc shooting occurred on Wednesday, 28 December 2005 at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the Indian city of Bangalore, killing Prof. Munish Chandra Puri of IIT Delhi and injuring four, after two or more unidentified gunmen fired at Puri and others. The state government of Karnataka declared the shooting to be a terrorist attack, making it the first such attack in Bangalore.

Shooting

At around 7:00 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. GMT), two people entered the IISc campus in a white Ambassador car. At around 7:20 p.m., delegates attending the International Conference On Operations Research Applications in Infrastructure Development, organised by the Operations Research Society of India at the JN Tata Auditorium on the IISc campus, were heading to dinner when the shooting began. Two gunmen, wearing black masks and army uniforms, started firing indiscriminately from a rifle, thought to be a Chinese Type 56, outside the auditorium.^[1][2]

Victims

Munish Chandra Puri, a Professor Emeritus at the Mathematics Department of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, was wounded by bullets. He died en route to a hospital. Three other scientists and a lab assistant were among the injured. One of the injured was a pregnant woman, who sustained injuries to her eye. The other three injured had serious bullet injuries and underwent emergency surgeries.^[2][3][4]

Investigation

The police later recovered a Chinese made Type 56 military rifle, twelve empty cartridges, one empty magazine, five live magazines (one half-spent), two grenades, and one live hand-grenade (Chinese made), which they defused.^[5] The police surmise that the gunmen had escaped by scaling the boundary wall of the campus. Although no organisation has yet claimed responsibility, the police have not ruled out the involvement of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). But the police discounted suggestions that the attack was linked to the arrival in the city of notorious gangster Abu Salem, who was in Bangalore for a narcoanalysis. ^[6]

Aftermath

Besides a nationwide hunt for the attacker, the incident also prompted the police in Karnataka and other South Indian states to go on "high alert." Security at other premier institutions in India including the IIMs and IITs has been enhanced.

Police later arrested a number of suspects of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian origins. No specific connection to any terror group has been found, but police continue to suspect that it was the work of a radical Islamist group.

The JN Tata statue at IISc, Bangalore.

References

1. ^ "Gunmen kill scientist in IISc Bangalore". NDTV. 29 December 2005. http://www.ndtv.com/topstories/showtopstory.asp?slug=Gunmen+kill+scientist+in+IISc+Bangalore&id=18464&category=National. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Terror attack at IISc, Bangalore; 1 killed, 4 injured". Rediff.com. 29 December 2005. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/28bang.htm. 
3. ^ "Witnesses recount India gun horror". BBC. 29 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4566282.stm. 
4. ^ "Massive hunt for India attacker". BBC. 29 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4565944.stm. 
5. ^ "LeT hand not ruled out in Bangalore attack". Mid-Day. 29 December 2005. http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/nation/2005/december/127161.htm. 
6. ^ T. A, Johnson (29 December 2005). "Terror hits Bangalore, target is IISc". Indian Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/storyOld.php?storyId=84846. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 

• "Gunmen fire at scientists, kill senior IIT professor". Hindustan Times. 29 December 2005. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1584467,0008.htm. 
• "Ex-Delhi IIT professor killed in Bangalore shoot-out". The Times of India. 29 December 2005. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1350392,curpg-1.cms. 
• "Massive Manhunt Under Way in Bangalore After Attack Kills Science Professor". Voice of America. 29 December 2005. http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-12-29-voa16.cfm. 
• "Indian police recover grenades, ammunition after Bangalore terror attack". India Daily. 29 December 2005. http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/6102.asp. 
• "Terrorists behind Bangalore shootings". Daily Times. 30 December 2005. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C12%5C30%5Cstory_30-12-2005_pg4_11. 
• "Police release Bangalore suspect's image". Rediff.com. 31 December 2005. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/31bang.htm.