Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge address on the train blast in Chennai

1052014

 Railway Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge, expressing shock over the incident, announced Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the family of the woman killed in the explosion. 

He said Rs 25,000 will be given to those seriously injured and Rs 5,000 to those with minor injuries. 

Kharge said the Railway will bear the entire treatment expenses of the injured. 

Commissioner Railway Safety (southern circle) S K Mittal will conduct an inquriy into the incident, Railway Spokesperson Anil Saxena said. 

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who is in Himachal Pradesh for campaigning for Congress candidates, said, “I have directed my officials to provide all assistance to the state government”. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemns Chennai blasts, says the act highlights desperation and cowardice of those responsible. 

Two minor-intensity bomb blasts on Thursday rocked the Guwahati-Bangalore Express at the Central Railway station in Chennai claiming a woman’s life and leaving 13 others injured, as police detained a suspect in this connection.

A 22-year-old woman passenger, identified as Swathi, bound for Guntur via Vijaywada, was killed in the explosions that occurred in the S4 and S5 coaches in quick succession.  The injured, including two grievously hurt, have been rushed to the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, where doctors said the injured were “out of danger”.  The train arrived from Bangalore for a ten-minute halt at the Central Railway station, the major railway hub in this metropolis, at about 7.05 AM, and the explosions occurred in the coaches at about 7.15 AM.  As panic-stricken passengers rushed out of the train in platform No 9 and also others in the neighbouring platform, police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the entire area.  Police said a suspect has been detained in connection with the explosions and he was being questioned.  Tamil Nadu DGP K Ramanujam said a special investigation team would investigate the blasts and added that Chennai was not the target.  “It is not a major blast. It is suspected that Chennai could not have been target of those who were behind the blast because the train was running late. Some other location could have been the target”, Ramanujam said.  He said police had no immediate information on who was responsible for the explosion.”It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the blast. Damage to the train is not heavy,” he said.  Southern Railway General Manager Rakesh Mishra described it as a “minor blast”.