Twin blasts at Chennai railway station

A woman has been killed and 14 others injured, two of them critically, when two low-intensity bombs exploded in a span of five minutes on two coaches of the Bangalore-Guwahati train at the busy Central Railway station in Chennai on Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu government ordered a probe by its special CB-CID wing as police detained a suspect in connection with the blasts.  The Guwahati-bound train arrived here late by about an hour at 7.05 AM at Platform No. 9 and in a span of five minutes, two low intensity bombs exploded in S4 and S5 coaches, police said.  Passengers of the train, who were waiting to board on its onward journey after a ten minute halt, were jolted by the sound of the explosion and ran helter-skelter.  A woman was killed in the blast while 14 others were injured.  The 22-year-old victim, who lost her life in the explosion, has been identified as Swati travelling to Guntur via Vijayawada and the injured are undergoing treatment at the state-run Rajiv Gandhi hospital where doctors described their condition as "out of danger".  Tamil Nadu DGP K Ramanujam, who inspected the damaged S4 and S5 coaches of the train, said, "City police, Railway Police, forensic experts and bomb disposal squads have been searching the coaches of the train. The coaches of other trains are also being checked", he said. "  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.  "It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the blast. Damage to the train is not heavy," he added.  DGP (Elections) Anoop Jaiswal said, "We are picking up clues and any speculation on this is too premature", he said.  Jaiswal said nobody has been arrested in connection with the blasts.  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa ordered CB-CID investigation into the blasts and announced Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the family of the deceased, besides Rs 50,000 each to the grievously wounded and Rs 25,000 to those with minor injuries.  She condemned the explosions and directed police to nab those behind the act.  The blasts came two days after the arrest of a terror suspect hailing from Sri Lanka and believed to have links with Indian terror modules.  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.