Train blasts shatter Chennai calm

Two low-intensity bombs exploded in quick succession as the Bangalore-Guwahati Express pulled into the Central Station. Nation-wide alert sounded.

In a May Day shocker, >two blasts in a train as it arrived at the Chennai Central railway station on Thursday morning claimed the life of >a woman passenger and injured 14, raising concern about the peaceful conduct of the two remaining phases of the Lok Sabha election in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and other States.

Shortly after the Bangalore-Guwahati Express pulled into platform nine, two low-intensity bombs went off, one in the S-4 coach and the other in S-5, at 7.08 a.m. Parchuri Swathi, an information technology professional bound for Guntur, was killed on the spot.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa

>transferred the case to the Crime Branch CID for investigation , as the State was not keen on an investigation by the

>National Investigation Agency .

Eyewitnesses said they heard two explosions in quick succession. Shocked passengers ran out of the train to safety. Several others escaped the blast as they had stepped out to have breakfast during the 40-minute halt. The three affected coaches were detached after which the train left for Guwahati five hours late.

“Some injured persons were in a state of shock and could not move. We shifted them to safety with the help of some porters. The damage would have been devastating had the blast occurred when the train was moving,” Vijay Kumar, travelling ticket examiner, said.

Parrying queries on whether the

>explosions were targeted at Andhra Pradesh where the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, addressed election rallies on Thursday, a senior police official said the focus now was on nabbing the culprits. The train would have probably entered Andhra Pradesh had it been running on time. DGP (in-charge of elections), Tamil Nadu, Anoop Jaiswal said investigators were perusing CCTV footage obtained from the Chennai and the Bangalore stations. “It appears to be an

> IED triggered by a timer device. ”

Snag delayed train

Sruthisagar Yamunan reports

A snag in the braking system that delayed the Bangalore-Guwahati Express by 45 minutes between Krishnarajapuram and Bangarapet on Thursday morning perhaps prevented the blast occurring on a speeding train with possibly graver consequences.

According to a Southern Railway official, had the train run on schedule, it would have been between Tada and Sullurpetta in Andhra Pradesh at the time of the blast (around 7.15 am).

Significantly, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was scheduled to attend a public meeting in Nellore on Thursday evening.