A 24-year-old female passenger was killed and 14 others injured, two of them critically, when two bombs exploded in quick succession at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday morning, Mid-Day reported.
The minor intensity blasts took place around 7:15 am in two sleeper coaches of the Guwahati-Bangalore Express, which had just pulled into platform 9 of the station for a 10-minute stop, Southern Railway General Manager Rakesh Mishra told reporters.
A man found to be hiding in the train was taken for questioning, sources said.
Swati, a technician, was killed instantly when one of the bombs exploded under her seat. She was traveling from Bangalore to Vijayawada, officials said. Her relatives have been informed and will be flying to Chennai.
"They were minor intensity blasts. Experts from Delhi will be sent to investigate," said Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.
A National Investigation Agency team is also going to Chennai to join the investigations, NDTV reported.
"I got off the train to get breakfast. Suddenly, I heard loud blasts. My children were injured" said a passenger who was traveling on the train.
Since the train was running nearly two hours behind schedule, speculations of whether some other city may have been the target were immediately raised.
Along with sniffer dogs, scores of police personnel searched the station after it was cordoned off. All platforms and coaches were checked to ensure further safety.
As the end of staggered voting for the national elections comes to a close, security across India has been tight.
"We are in regular touch with the Tamil Nadu government and have sought a report about the incident. We are still waiting for the details," Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, currently in Himachal Pradesh for campaigning for the Congress candidates, said, "I am away in Himachal. I have directed my officials to provide all assistance to the state government," Shinde said. A team of National Security Guard and explosive experts is likely to be sent to Chennai to join in the investigation into the blast.
Condemning the blasts, DMK MP T K S Elangovan said, "This will create fear in the minds of the passengers... so it is on police to take precautionary steps and see such things don't happen in the future".
The injured have been identified as Murali (37), Krishnapant, Soren Pant, Santh, Bijan Kumar (24), Uma, Abdul Khan(24), Shihabul Haque (22), Vimal Kumar, Hari (21), Altaf Khan admitted to Government Hospital, according to Mid-Day.
