The Hindu : Front Page : Blast on Rajdhani Express kills five

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 14, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Blast on Rajdhani Express kills five

Sushanta Talukdar

Police suspect hand of adivasi outfit

Guwahati: Five passengers of the 2423A Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Delhi Rajdhani Express were killed and four injured seriously in a bomb blast near the Chungajan railway station in Upper Assam’s Golaghat district late on Wednesday night. Police suspect that the blast could be the handiwork of the All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA).

Inspector General of Police (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma told The Hindu that the needle of suspicion pointed to AANLA, which was active in Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts.

On December 3, the outfit triggered an explosion on the tracks between the Khatikhati and Bokajan railway stations in Karbi Anglong district, causing minor damage to the Dibrugarh-bound 5959 up Kamrup Express.

Police also suspect its hand in a blast on the tracks between the Tangla and Harisinga railway stations in Udalguri district on December 7.

The group had threatened to target “innocent civilians” and “the Tarun Gogoi-led government’s men” to avenge the brutalities on protesters during a procession taken out by the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam at the Beltola locality here on November 24.

NARROW ESCAPE: A victim of the Rajdhani Express blast at the Dimapur Civil hospital in Assam on Thursday. Five people were killed and four seriously injured in the blast. - PHOTO: PTI

Golaghat District Superintendent of Police Pradip Chandra Saloi said the blast, suspected to have been caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), occurred around 1 p.m. A luggage van, containing passengers, took the entire impact of the blast, resulting in the death of five people and multiple injuries to four.

The blast created a crater on the tracks and damaged two sleepers. The bodies of three victims were found lying outside the train and those of the two inside the luggage van. Police have sought forensic experts’ help to ascertain if the blast occurred on the tracks or if the IED was planted in the luggage van. Passengers of the luggage van said the train stopped only after they pulled the chain. However, the driver told the police that he did not stop the train immediately after the blast as he feared more attacks.

Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway Trikalagya Rabha said the injured were taken to the Dimapur Civil Hospital. The train left for Guwahati from Chungajan at 6 a.m. after the luggage van was detached. It arrived here at 10 a.m. and started for Delhi at 11.45 a.m., he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page