Akshardham temple attack: 23 years on, Gujarat remembers the horror

Gujarat was just getting back to normalcy after the communal riots that had killed more than a thousand across the state when a terrorist attack on the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar on September 24, 2002, killed 33, including civilians and security personnel. Another 80 people were injured in the attack that lasted 14 hours.

On September 24, marking 23 years of the attack, members of Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) conducted a rally in Gandhinagar and visited the Akshardham temple to pay tributes to the victims of the attack.

In Banaskantha district, BJP leader Shankar Chaudhary paid tribute to State Reserve Police (SRP) jawan Late Allah Rakha Unadjam, a resident of Madana village of the district, who was killed in a grenade attack before the National Security Guard (NSG) could arrive at the spot.

In Sabarkantha, BJP’s Himmatnagar MLA Vinendrasinh Dilipsinh Zala visited the home of Arjun Singh Gameti, another jawan of SRP who was killed in the grenade attack.

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Former officials recount operation

“More people would have died if not for SRP jawans Allah Rakha and Arjun Gameti. The SRP’s Gandhinagar unit was the first responder to the scene on the day. One unit of the team dispersed to cordon off the temple, while another team, under Gameti, was sent to enter the temple from the back and secure the devotees. Allah Rakha was also part of this team. They managed to reach the temple’s sanctorum, where many devotees hid. The two of them held their post at the entrance of the sanctorum till NSG arrived in the evening. When the terrorists couldn’t enter the sanctorum, they threw grenades that killed both the jawans,” RB Brahmbhatt, who was then the Superintendent of Police, Gandhinagar, told The Federal.

“I was leading the third team that was tasked with finding the terrorists’ exact location. We were met with indiscriminate firing when we tried to enter the temple from the main gate. I was shot and had to be taken to hospital. But I returned to the spot after getting stitches. The operation lasted more than 12 hours, where we assisted the NSG,” said Brahmbhatt, who is now the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), CID (Intelligence).

Also Read: No riots in Gujarat post 2002, claims Modi; govt data begs to disagree

Special movie screening

Meanwhile, the BJP’s Ahmedabad unit arranged for a special screening of the movie Akshardham – Operation Vajra Shakti in the evening at two multiplexes in Ahmedabad.

“An event is organised at Akshardham temple every year in memory of those who died. We will be attending the prayer meet after which we have organised the special screening of the movie Akshardham – Operation Vajra Shakti,” said Prerakbhai Shah, President of Ahmedabad district’s BJP.

However, many families who lost their loved ones to the attack have refrained from participating in the event.

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'Life has never been the same'

“I lost my son and granddaughter in the attack, and I have never visited the temple since then, and neither do I want to attend any memorial meeting. Every year, a prayer meet is organised at the temple in memory of those who died. They (the authorities of Akshardham temple) call me every year, but I could never bring myself to step foot in the temple again. I can’t bear to relive the incident,” 81-year-old Aruna Shah, who lost her son and granddaughter in the attack, told The Federal.

“It was granddaughter Purti’s birthday and she would have turned three. My son Shivam was visiting the Swaminarayan temple with wife and Purti to seek the blessing of Pramukh Swamiji. I got to know about Shivam and Purti on the morning of September 25 when the bodies of those who were killed were brought out by the police. My daughter-in-law was injured and hospitalised. I had to tell her about her husband and daughter. Life has never been the same since then,” says Shah, a resident of Gandhinagar who used to be a staunch devotee and regular visitor at the temple.

Suvarna Nanavati was 19 when the attack happened in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. On the ill-fated day, she had accompanied her newly married sister and brother-in-law to the temple.

“It was a ritual for a newly married couple in our family to visit the Swaminarayan temple and seek blessings for their life ahead. But my sister and brother-in-law didn’t get to experience married life. It was just a week after their marriage when they were killed in the terrorist attack. My mother couldn’t accept the news and fainted when she was informed. She would remain ill mostly after that and passed away in 2019. Until her last breath, she called for Sonali, my elder sister,” Nanavati told The Federal.

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Memorial events politicised

“I vividly remember, I told my sister to go ahead, and I left to get water from the canteen of the Akshardham temple. I never saw her again. There were around 20 or 30 people at the canteen at the time. The canteen staff acted swiftly and took us inside the kitchen and locked the door from inside, and saved us. Since then, I have visited the temple on September 24 every year to take part in the prayer meet. I believe my sister and brother-in-law will be at peace if I pray. That is why I come to the temple every year. Last year, I also attended a memorial meeting in Ahmedabad. But I won’t be attending any such meeting today. I see no point in attending a memorial meeting organised by people who have nothing to do with the incident,” she added.

Hitesh Dharia was a security guard at the temple during the time of the attack and sustained four bullet injuries. After treatment at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad for eight months, he had to undergo plastic surgery at a private hospital in Mumbai to attach his limb back.

“Initially, I used to attend memorial meetings organised in Ahmedabad. Many organisations would call me to talk about my experience. But then, in 2007, many of these organisers protested when the father of the martyred SRP jawan Allah Rakha expressed his wish to visit the Akshardham temple to see the spot where his son died. Since then, I stopped attending any of these meetings. It’s been more than two decades since the incident, I think political parties should leave us alone now,” Dharia told The Federal.

“I still can’t move my right hand freely. After I returned from Mumbai, I have been a volunteer at an NGO in Ahmedabad,” added Dharia, who is now 54 years old.