Central station blasts case nearly solved

CB-CID team investigating the May 1 explosions has identified perpetrators

November 18, 2014 01:39 am | Updated November 16, 2021 06:57 pm IST - CHENNAI:

A techie was killed and 14 others injured in the twin blasts — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

A techie was killed and 14 others injured in the twin blasts — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

The Crime Branch- CID, which is investigating the bomb blasts at Chennai Central Railway Station on May 1, claims that it is close to wrapping up the case.

CB-CID sleuths, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We know who is behind the blasts. But we are yet to nab them; so, more details cannot be divulged at this stage.”

It has been six months since the blast occurred aboard the Bangalore–Guwahati tri-weekly express a few minutes after it chugged into platform 9 at the railway station at 7.15 a.m.

The explosion claimed the life of P. Swati, a 22-year-old techie from Bangalore, who was on her way to meet her parents in Vijayawada.

14 passengers were injured in the incident.

The train was scheduled to arrive at Chennai junction at 5.40 a.m.

However, the train reached Central station only around 7.10 a.m.

Within a few minutes, bombs exploded one after the other in reserved second sleeper coaches, S 4 and S 5.

The explosives had been kept under seat number 28 in Coach S 4 and seat number 69 in coach S 5. Soon after the incident, cases were filed under various sections of the IPC and the Explosive Substances Act and Railway Act. The then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ordered a probe by the CB-CID.

Initially, there was speculation on whether the State had refused the National Investigative Agency’s (NIA) help in handling the case.

Denying this, Ms. Jayalalithaa in a statement had said: “I would like to say that NIA experts well-versed in cracking bomb blast cases have come to inspect the blast site.” The National Security Guard’s assistance was also taken.

The possibility of the blasts occurring in Andhra Pradesh, had the train run on schedule, was also looked into.

A team also rushed to Bangalore suspecting that the explosives could have been planted there.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.