The bomb blast inside a local train between the Titagarh and Barrackpore stations on Tuesday morning, which left more than a dozen injured, has raised fresh questions over the security of passengers using railways for their daily commute. The explosion occurred on the busy Sealdah main line, used by lakhs of passengers everyday.
The relatives of those injured are surprised how miscreants carrying crude bombs were able to board a train. “My wife sustained serious injuries due to the bomb blast. I cannot understand how criminals can hurl bombs at each other inside a moving train,” Satto Mahato told The Hindu .
Ratikanta Seal, whose son was injured during the blast, said: “ How are such goons able to board the train with crude bombs.”
“I have been associated with the Railways for 35 years. But I cannot recall any suchblast inside a compartment,” Samir Goswami, a former Chief Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Railway told The Hindu .
Describing the incident as “condemnable,” Mr. Goswami pointed out that even though the Railway Protection Force was responsible for the protection of Railway’s property, it could not prosecute people accused of crimes committed in a train or on Railway premises. “Law and order is State subject. The RPF can only apprehend such culprits and hand them over to the police,” he said.
