Author: Deepak K Jha & Pramod
K Singh
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: July 30, 2005
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.