The hand of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is suspected to be behind the twin blasts on board Shramjeevi Express which killed nine persons. Security agencies have started an intense survey of eastern Uttar Pradesh to identify SIMI cadres after their footprints were found in Thursday's twin blasts in the general bogey of Shramjeevi Express.
What is surprising is that intelligence had warned three railway zones, the Northern Railway, North-Central Railway and Eastern Railway about the possibility of a blast or passage of explosives on their lines and the Shramjeevi Express had been searched, and its passengers frisked at Varanasi Junction.
National Security Guards (NSG) explosive experts have collected the debris from the bogey after inspecting the blast sight at Harpalpur station in Jaunpur district. Fitted with timers, the explosives are suspected to be C-4, a highly lethal derivative of RDX. The explosives used in the device were enough to blow up at least three bogeys.
The impact was so severe that mangled portions of human flesh were found stuck to the ceiling of the packed compartment, a senior UP Police official said. Intelligence sources said the man who planted the bomb was also travelling in the same compartment.
Intelligence agencies had tipped the Railways of a possible blast or movement of explosives in trains passing through Varanasi Junction. A senior railway security official told The Pioneer that all three zones, the Northern Railway, North-Central Railway and Eastern Railway had been cautioned and had actually given a date of July 28 for the attack. As SIMI has been very active in the area, the officials were warned of a possible attack by the group.
Following the tip-off, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) frisked passengers and searched the trains on Wednesday and Thursday as well. Shramjeevi Express was searched on Thursday at Varanasi Junction but the bomb remained undetected in the toilet of a general compartment. It went off a couple of hours after the train left Varanasi Junction at around 3.30 pm.
The railways have claimed they have tightened security in the three zones following the tip-off and also as part of the beefing up of security before Independence Day. All the trains were being checked by the RPF and GRP under the supervision of state security officials.
Intelligence sources said, it is
being investigated whether the 22 live bombs recovered from a compartment
of Gaya-Patna were linked to the Shramjeevi blasts. The bombs were definitely
not made in India. Ballistic experts will examine the bombs to ascertain
which terrorist groups use such bombs. The ill-fated train is being brought
to Delhi and it will be studied in detail, they said.