Twin blasts on Bangalore-Guwahati Express kill one, injure 14

A woman was killed and 14 others injured, two grievously, when two bombs went off in quick succession in two coaches of the Bangalore-Guwahati Express train at Chennai Central station on Thursday.

One person has been detained by the Chennai Police from the train, following the blast. The person was reportedly hiding in the train for two hours after the blasts when caught, according to sources.

According to reports, two low-intensity explosions took place, while the train was standing on platform number 9. The blasts took place inside the S3 and S4 coaches of the Guwahati-bound train around 7.20 am.

One explosion happened under a seat occupied by a passenger, according to sources. Witnesses said the sound of the blast was not very loud.

The deceased has been identified as Swati, 22, who hailed from Guntur. The injured were taken to Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital nearby.

A person with suspected Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) link was arrested by central intelligence from Chennai on Tuesday.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa condemned the blast and ordered a probe. She appealed to the public not to panic and assured that security agencies were taking adequate precautionary measures.

Tamil Nadu Director General of Police K Ramanujam was quoted as saying it was not a major blast and Chennai could not have been the target, since the train was running late. The timing of the explosion could have been set keeping some other location in mind, he said. According to the schedule, the train was to reach Chennai Central at 5.40 am and the departure was scheduled at 6.20 am.

The compartments S3, S4 and S5 were detached and taken  for investigation.

Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the victim, Rs 25,000 to the two critically injured, and Rs 5,000 to those who suffered minor injuries.

Politics over blast

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s supremo, M Karunanidhi, while condemning the explosion, said the blasts could have been prevented if the state government became alert after the arrest of the ISI link two days earlier. The state government did not follow up the developments after the arrest of Mohammed Zakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan with alleged ISI links, on Tuesday, he alleged.