Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has described as “an attempted terrorist act” the railway track blast at Sithani near Villupuram on Saturday, while rejecting suggestions that he might have been the target of the attack.
Talking to reporters after meeting Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence on Sunday, Mr. Chidambaram was hopeful that those behind the blast would be secured soon.
“The police and the intelligence department are in pursuit of the culprits. They have already arrested a few persons on suspicion and are interrogating them,” he said.
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Mr. Chidambaram, however, rejected the suggestion that he was the target, saying that though he was scheduled to travel by train to Tiruchi, he had cancelled the trip after realising that he could not catch the train.
“It is not important whether I was a target or not. The lives of all the two thousand people are just as important. I am confident that the police will soon secure those behind the blast,” he said.
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The Minister said that a major accident had been averted because of the presence of mind of railway employees.
Asked what action he was expecting from the Tamil Nadu government, he said it was for the State government to decide.