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Two explosions ripped through the Bangalore-Guwahati Express early this morning at the Chennai Central Station, killing one person and injuring 14.
According to the Southern Railway, the deceased passenger has been identified as Swaty, 24., a staff of TCS, Bangalore, heading home in Guntur. The injured, including two seriously, have been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
The explosions occurred around 7-15 a.m., a few minutes after the train (No: 12509) pulled into Chennai Central and three coaches — S3, S4 and S5 — were damaged. Security was immediately stepped up at the station. Running of other trains was not affected, said a Southern Railway statement. The Bangalore-Guwahati Express resumed its journey at 12-15 p.m., after the damaged coaches were replaced.
The Railways announced a relief amount of ₹1 lakh to the family of the deceased passenger, ₹25,000 to the two grievously injured, and ₹5,000 to the other injured passengers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said “such barbaric acts targeting innocent men, women and children only highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible.”
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in a statement, said the Tamil Nadu police will work with the Railway Police Force to identify and punish those responsible for the blasts. The Crime Branch CID will handle the investigation, she added.
She announced a grant of ₹1 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the family of the deceased passenger. The two seriously injured passengers were granted ₹50,000 and the others ₹25,000.
Chennai, ‘not the target’ PTI reports: Tamil Nadu DGP K Ramanujam said,” It is a minor 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… It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the blast. Damage to the train is not heavy.”
DGP (Elections) Anoop Jaiswal said, “We are picking up clues and any speculation on this is too premature. Nobody has been arrested so far.”
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