Special team to probe blasts: Tamil Nadu police chief

A Special Investigation Team would probe the twin bomb blasts that rocked the Bangalore-Guwahati Express on Thursday, leaving a woman dead and 18 others injured.

Tamil Nadu DGP K. Ramanujam said that after the Railway Police registers a case, the investigation of the blasts will be taken up by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"It is not a major blast. It is suspected that Chennai could not have been the target of those who were behind the blasts because the train was running late. Some other location could have been the target," Mr. Ramanujam said.

He said police have no immediate information on who was responsible for the explosion in which 18 people were injured.

"It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the blasts. Damage to the train is not heavy," he added.

Passengers rush out of train in panic

It was chaos all around at the station as passengers ran out of the Guwahati-Bangalore Express in panic soon after the blasts went off in the coaches of the train.

A passenger, who was travelling by the S3 coach, narrating his experience, said, "I was awake and resting on my berth. At about 7.15 a.m., we heard some sound from the next coach. I came out of the coach and saw what had happened in S4 and S5 coaches."

Most passengers, who were panic-stricken, also rushed out, he said. "We saw three to four injured persons writhing in pain," the passenger added.

"Initially we thought it was the sound of a cylinder explosion. But we later learnt that it was a bomb explosion," the passenger said.