Twin bomb blasts at India, Chennai railway station, one killed

At least 1 passenger was killed & 9 others injured in
two bomb blasts in two coaches of Guwahati-Bangalore train,
minutes after it entered Chennai station. 

Two low- intensity bomb blasts took place on the Bangalore-Guwahati Express as it was approaching platform number 9 at the Chennai Central Station, killing one and injuring at least 10 others. The explosions took place on coaches S4 and S5 of the train.

Chennai Police have detained a suspect in connection with blasts while an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been ordered. A National Investigation Agency team has been sent to Chennai to assist in the case.

The train arrived at the station around 7.05 am and the explosion took place at 7.15 am. Southern Railway General Manager R K Mishra at Chennai Central told reporters that the train was being checked by the bomb disposal squad.

Chief spokesman of India’s southern railway system M. Bhupati said  that authorities suspect the blasts were caused by bombs planted on the train. Police are investigating.

Bhupati says at least one of the blasts erupted from underneath a seat. The woman killed had been sitting in the seat where the explosion occurred.

The victim was identified as 22-year-old Swati, who was travelling to Guntur along with a relative. The Union Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge had declared an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. Two people were critically injured and seven others have minor injuries.

Rs 25,ooo will be awarded as compensation to the those critically injured and Rs 5,000 to those with minor injuries. A security alert has been issued in Andhra Pradesh. The injured were rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital.

Khagre said that the train was behind schedule and was supposed to arrive in Chennai at 5.30 am.  The damaged bogies have been detached and the train will resume its journey at 11 am.

“Lets not jump to conclusions, it will take approximately one week to make the analysis and for the investigation to submit a report,” said Union Railways Minister Khagre.

Tamil Nadu DGP K Ramanujam said after the Railway Police registers the case into the explosion, the investigation will be taken up by a Special Investigation Team.

“It is not a major blast. It is suspected that Chennai could not have been target of those who were behind the blast because the train was running late. Some other location could have been the target”, Ramanujam said.

He said police have no immediate information on who was responsible for the explosion in which 11 people were injured.

“It is premature to say what kind of device was used is the blast. Damage to the train is not heavy,” he added.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is currently in Himachal Pradesh for campaigning for the Congress candidates.

“I am away in Himachal. I have directed my officials to provide all assistance to the state government,” Shinde said.

A passenger, who was travelling by the S3 coach, narrating his experience, said, “I was awake and resting on my berth.

At about 7.15 AM, we heard some sound from the next coach. I came out of the coach and saw what had happened in S4 and S5 coaches”.

Most passengers, who were panic-stricken, also rushed out, he said. “We saw three to four injured persons writhing in pain.”

“Initially we thought it was the sound of a cylinder explosion. But we later learnt that it was bomb explosion”, the passenger said.

One passenger was killed and eleven others injured in two bomb blasts that went off in quick succession on the train bound for Guwahati.