Terrorists bomb Indo–Pak 'friendship train', 75 killed

Unidentified terrorists bombed the Samjhauta Express – the 'friendship train' between India and Pakistan, Monday, February 19, killing 75 passengers including Pakistani nationals near Panipat in Haryana.

The suspected terrorist bombing – said to be triggered by improvised explosive devices (IED) – was clearly aimed at undermining the peace process between the nuclear–armed rivals as both Indian and Pakistani nationals, most of them poor people, were targeted in the attack. The attack came ahead of a three–day visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri to New Delhi from Tuesday to attend the meeting of the Indo–Pak Joint Commission and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.

Police officials, after inspecting the site, said that IEDs were used by suspected terrorists as passengers had heard a blast in the train before its coaches caught fire.

The police later recovered a suitcase from another coach of the train, that had not caught fire, in which two more IEDs were kept. They were defused by bomb disposal squads.

Senior railway officials reaching the site from Delhi said that the terrorist had planned to blow up more coaches of the train.

"Three IEDs have been defused," the railway general manager said.

Mobile phones or remote controlled devices could have been used to activate the IEDs, police officials said.

Forensic experts who collected samples from the scene of blasts were of the view that low–intensity explosives like sulphur or nitrate were used to trigger the explosions and kerosene–filled bottles kept in the bogies were used as a catalyst to spread the fire.

The experts have recovered several kerosene bottles, 3 pipe bombs and some low–intensity explosive devices from other compartments of the train, which caught fire at midnight.

"The modus operandi is new. They had used low–intensity explosives to trigger the blast and kerosene to ignite the fire. The idea it seems was to cause largescale destruction by fire," JS Mahanwal, director, Forensic Laboratory Haryana, said.

Forensic experts said they are yet to find out whether a timer device or some other equipment like flash were used to trigger the explosives. "We have collected samples and will soon find out how the explosives were triggered." Initial investigations have also ruled out the use of RDX in the explosions and are moving on the assumption that sulphur or nitrate were used.

"We have defused two pipe bombs, 2 IEDs and recovered 10 to 15 kerosene bottles from three compartments," Mahanwal said.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil revealed after a visit to the spot that the explosive material used in the attack was incendiary in nature, as a result of which two bogies of the train were charred from inside. "The explosives were planted in the suitcases and were designed to create immense heat, something evident from the molten metallic fixtures in the bogies," Patil told reporters.

A devastating fire engulfed two coaches – No. 10 and 11 – of the Attari Special 4001 train just after 1 am on Monday. The passengers were on their way from Delhi to Lahore.

Most of the passengers were killed due to burns and suffocation inside the two coaches. Scores of other passengers were injured, 20 of them critically, and were rushed to the civil hospital in Panipat for treatment.

Several passengers, including women, children and old people, jumped out of the burning train even as it was still moving.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot but they could control the fire only after two hours.

Witnesses said they saw people screaming and struggling to get out of the fire–stricken carriages.

Shiv Ram, a police railway constable, was one of the first officials on the scene.

"The coaches were totally engulfed in flames. I brought out three charred women – I could only recognise them as women because they were wearing bangles," he said.

Many train windows in India are barred for security reasons.

A rescuer, Rajinder Prasad, said, "We couldn't save anyone. They were screaming inside but no–one could get out."

A doctor in Panipat, Ved Gupta, said: "It's very difficult to say who the victims were. Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition."

The other eight coaches of the train were allowed to continue their journey to Attari near the Pakistan border with passengers on Monday morning.

Dozens of passengers with burn injuries were pulled out from the train by local residents who heard their cries from the burning train.

Most passengers in the train (Attari special 4001) were said to be Pakistani nationals headed for Lahore.

According to district police chief MS Sheoran, casualties could be more since each of the coaches had a capacity of 70 passengers.

Indian President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, expressed his concern and grief over the loss of lives on board the train.

In a condolence message, the President conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives and his prayers for the early recovery of those injured in the tragedy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday also expressed anguish and grief over the train tragedy, saying that the culprits would be caught.

Admitting a security lapse, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said there was no equipment for checking what was there inside the luggage.

"Though there are metal detectors, we don't have the equipment to check what is inside the luggage. We can't deny that (security lapse)," he told reporters, adding, "Worldwide, no such equipment is available."

Prasad, who visited the site of the incident, also said each and every luggage could not be checked as it caused inconvenience to the passengers. "We will accept if there is any fault on the part of Railways. We don't want to cover up," he said.

The Minister said the state governments of Punjab and Haryana had a major role in ensuring the security of the train and the Railway Protection Force did not have much powers.

"It is the responsibility of the state governments to ensure the security of the train," he said.

The twin blasts on the train bound for Pakistan was a clear case of a terror attack, Prasad said.

"It's an act of terrorism like the one in Mumbai," he said, referring to a series of bomb blasts in the Maharashtra capital that killed at least 187 people in July last year. "Innocent people have been targeted."

"On the basis of information given by eye–witnesses, one person who was present in one of the two coaches that caught fire has been detained," Prasad added.

He said eye–witnesses, including one of the injured, a Pakistani national Rana Shaukat Ali, had told him when he visited Panipat that two persons were sitting in the coach, their faces hidden behind mufflers and looking suspicious.

Ali lost five members of his family in the blasts. A RPF constable, who later succumbed to his injuries, had even questioned the duo, Prasad said.

The whereabouts of the second person is not known so far, he added.

The Railway Ministry has announced an enhanced ex–gratia of Rs. 10 lakh to the next of kin of dead persons and Rs. 50,000 to the injured. Prasad has also announced that the next of kin of Indian citizens who lost their lives in the incident would be provided suitable job also in Railways.

Strongly condemning the blasts on the Delhi–Attari Express, the Left parties has urged the government to continue the dialogue with Pakistan saying the attempt of the attack was to disrupt the peace process.

"It is an attempt to break up the good links that are being established with Pakistan. It is also aimed at disrupting the communication links between the people of the two countries", CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan said.

He said the government should "persist with the dialogue" with Pakistan. "The talks should go on," Bardhan added.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has vowed the attack would stiffen their resolve to reach a sustainable peace.

President Musharraf said the attack was a heinous crime.

"Such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desire objective of sustainable peace," he said.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Kasuri said the explosion was a "horrendous act of terrorism" but it would not change his plans to visit India from 20–23 February.

The world has also reacted strongly denouncing the act of terrorism.

Expressing "profound grief" over the terrorist strike, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing sent his condolences to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Li, who was in India last week on an official visit, sent a message to Mukherjee expressing profound grief and sincere condolences over the tragic loss of lives.

The European Union (EU) has urged India and Pakistan to continue their peace dialogue despite the terrorist strike. A statement issued by the German Presidency of the EU said the attack was an act of "mindless violence clearly intended to disrupt the process of rapprochement between Pakistan and India."

"The Presidency of the European Union calls upon all parties in India and Pakistan to oppose further acts of violence," the statement said.

EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero–Waldner said the reconciliation between India and Pakistan would bring "tremendous benefit" to not only the two countries but the entire region.

"I an extremely shocked by the explosion in train going from India to Pakistan killing many people. I send my sincere condolences to the families of the victims," the top official of the 25–nation European body said.

Describing the bombings as "utterly shameful," British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells said in a statement he was "shocked to learn of the devastating loss of life on the Samjhauta Express."

"I extend my condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured and condemn utterly this shameful act. I would also like to offer the governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack," he said.

Bangladesh has condemned the blasts as "heinous" and said it stood against "all forms of terrorism."

Japan has termed the blasts as "unforgivable" and "extremely vicious" and an "attack that targeted innocent people."

"Our nation strongly condemns the act," a Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that Japan would continue cooperating with the Indian and Pakistani governments to fight international terrorism.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad said arrangements were being made to process visas immediately for Pakistanis who had relatives on the train and wished to visit India.

The twice–weekly service from the Indian capital to Lahore was restarted in 2004 after a two–year gap as part of the peace process between the two countries.

Their enmity focuses on Kashmir, a largely Muslim Himalayan region divided between them but claimed by both. More than a dozen militant groups have been fighting in Indian Kashmir for nearly two decades, seeking the region's independence or its merger with predominantly Islamic Pakistan. More than 68,000 people have died.

Monday's blaze revived memories of earlier train deaths, including July train bombings in Mumbai last year that killed more than 200 people. Police blamed those attacks on Lashkar–e–Tayyaba, a Pakistan–based Islamic militant group, as well as the Students' Islamic Movement of India, a banned Indian group. Officials also alleged Pakistani intelligence was involved, but Pakistan denies that.

The latest attack takes place just days before the fifth anniversary of a fire on a train carrying Hindu pilgrims that killed 59 people in Godhra in the western state of Gujarat, and sparked communal riots in which around 2,500 people died, most of them Muslims.

That fire was blamed at the time on Muslims, but some subsequent inquiries have said it could have been accidental.

About 84 percent of India's more than 1 billion people are Hindu. Muslims account for about 14 percent.