Bangladesh News

At least 67 people, mostly Pakistani nationals, were burnt to death when two powerful bombs went off aboard a Pakistan-bound train from India Sunday night in a suspected terror attack, which the officials said was aimed at derailing the bilateral peace process.

Some 15 people were injured in the blasts that set fire to two of the ‘friendship’ train’s coaches.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with attached timers exploded ripping apart the two coaches at around at 11:55pm when the train was speeding through Deewana, 80 km north of New Delhi, at 100km per hour. The bombs might have placed on the train at Old Delhi Railway Station, from where it started at 10:40pm.

Bodies charred beyond recognition, mangled metal of the two coaches, burnt bangles, footwear and other littered belongings of the passengers bore mute testimony to the ghastly attack that took place a day before the visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri for talks in New Delhi.

So far 67 bodies have been recovered from the ill-fated Samjhauta Express, Haryana State Director General of Police Ranjiv Dalal said.

One person, who was travelling in one of the two coaches destroyed by the blasts, was detained in connection with the incident, Indian Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said.

It was a horrific scene as the train sped with the two burning coaches through the countryside in northern state of Haryana before slowing down at an isolated place, witnesses said.

Indian Home Secretary V K Duggal said in New Delhi that two IEDs with timers were used to trigger the explosions, adding that three IEDs were defused at the site.

He said that the blasts led to the spread of the fire rapidly in the speeding train, which was evident from the fact that the bogies had melted from inside due to enormous heat.

The investigators have got “preliminary leads” into the blasts, Duggal added.

Forensic experts at the site said a deadly cocktail of low-intensity explosives and kerosene bombs were used to trigger the blasts and the fire.

A senior Railway official V N Mathur said in New Delhi that two suitcases containing IEDs were recovered from the train and the track and were defused. One of those contained petrol or kerosene, he added.

Of the injured, 12 were taken to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi where the condition of some was said to be critical.

Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters here that a “new type” of explosive material, essentially incendiary in nature, was used in the blast, as a result of which, two bogies of the train were charred from inside. “These explosives were packed in suitcases,” he said.

Asked about any suspected group responsible for the terror strike, Patil said, “We have got enough inputs, but we are not going to divulge them at this moment for the sake of investigation.” No names should be hastily concluded, he added.

Asked repeatedly whether this was an intelligence failure, Patil retorted, “we are not in the game of blaming each other. If I have to answer this question, I will answer this on the floor of parliament.”

Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders from various parties strongly condemned the ghastly killing of passengers of Samjhauta Express while opposition BJP attacked the government for its “complete failure” in tackling terrorism.

Kalam and Singh expressed anguish and grief over the loss of lives and conveyed their condolences to the next of kin of those killed and wished speedy recovery to the injured.

“Culprits will be caught”, Singh said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi described the blasts as “barbaric act of violence” and appealed to the people of India and Pakistan “to stand up firmly against such enemies of humanity.”

Targeting the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, BJP leader L K Advani said the blasts showed that terrorists were still operating and were in command. “The UPA government’s approach lacks a concerted policy to tackle terrorists,” he said, adding that BJP felt the government should adopt zero tolerance policy against terrorism.

The Left parties said the terror strike was aimed at destroying the Indo-Pak peace process and asked the government to continue the dialogue with Islamabad. They also demanded proper treatment and adequate compensation to the victims.

An alert has been sounded across New Delhi and Mumbai following the blasts in the train.

Reuters and AFP add: Like all Indian trains, most of the windows in the lower class compartments were barred with metal rods, meaning many people were trapped inside the train.

One survivor said passers-by pulled some survivors out of the doors and emergency exit windows. Local villagers also rushed to the scene to help passengers.

“I took a visa to come to India and see relatives, but I never realised it would become the last journey for my family,” said Tara Chand, whose three sons and two daughters are missing and feared dead. He was returning to Pakistan after a month in India.

The rest of the train, which had been carrying around 600 passengers, continued to the border town of Attari yesterday. Passengers were due to get off there and transfer to a Pakistani train.

Relatives gathered at railway stations in Old Delhi and in the Pakistani city of Lahore for news.

“My mother, father and brother are on the train. They went to Attari for a wedding,” said Israel Mohammed in Delhi, tears streaming down his face. “I am trying to call them on their mobiles but their mobiles are not working.”

“It’s sabotage — it’s an act of terrorism like the one in Mumbai,” Yadav told reporters, referring to serial bomb blasts in Mumbai last July that killed 186 people.

“This is what it suggests, that it was an act of terror,” spokesman Sanjaya Baru told Reuters. A top state government official said most of the victims were Pakistanis but included some Indian security personnel.