Explosives ("RDX") Found on India Train (10 Killed, 50 Injured Yesterday)

The blast destroyed an unreserved compartment Indian bomb disposal experts have found traces of a high explosive in a passenger train which was rocked by a blast on Thursday, officials say. At least 10 people were killed and more than 50 others injured in the explosion on the Shramjivi Express in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Traces of the high explosive RDX have been found in the compartment where the blast occurred.

Indian Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has ordered an investigation into the explosion, which happened near the town of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh.

A senior Jaunpur police official Devraj Nagar told Reuters they were investigating whether the blast was the work of militants.

"The nature of the blasts suggests the use of RDX explosive. A terrorist hand cannot be ruled out," he said.

Mr Yadav told the Press Trust of India that the "condition of 20 (injured passengers) is serious".

The unreserved compartment where the blast took place was packed to capacity, and eyewitnesses said people were blown to pieces or thrown out of the train.

A BBC correspondent in India says police are also investigating the possibility of any connection with an attack on the disputed religious site in the northern town of Ayodhya earlier this month.

The police say similar explosives were used in the Ayodhya attack, which was blamed on Muslim militants.

Mr Yadav had earlier told reporters that it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or by the gas cylinder of a cooking stove, sometimes carried by villagers on trains in India.

More news about the bombing on Indian train by terrorists:

Possible use of RDX in Shramjeevi blast Indo-Asian News Service Lucknow, July 29, 2005 Related Stories [X] close Terrorist groups might be behind train blast: UP CM » Blast throws new challenges: Lalu » Bomb blast in Shramjeevi Express kills 10 » 22 bombs found in Gaya-Dhanbad train » Advertisement The nature of the blast in a Delhi-bound train that killed 10 people suggests RDX use, giving investigators in Uttar Pradesh sufficient prima facie evidence to suspect terrorist involvement. Though forensic experts are yet to complete their investigations into Thursday's blast in Jaunpur district on the super fast Delhi-bound Shramjeevi Express from Patna, police officials involved in rescue and relief operations said RDX, a lethal explosive mostly used by terrorists, could have been used. "The blast was definitely quite a powerful one as it ripped apart the floor and damaged the ceiling of the toilet where it was apparently hidden," a local police official from Jaunpur told IANS over the phone. Director General of Police Yashpal Singh said on Friday that he would not comment until the forensic team completed its probe. However, officials on the spot said there were striking similarities between Thursday's incident and the August 2000 blast on the Sabarmati Express near Ayodhya that left 12 dead. In the case of the Sabarmati Express, the use of RDX was clearly established. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad rushed to Jaunpur on Thursday night and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav followed on Friday. However, none was willing to confirm a terrorist hand behind the incident. "We cannot say whether it was a bomb or just some passenger illegally carrying some explosives," Lalu Prasad told reporters. Eyewitnesses recall the scene shortly after the blast. "I had dozed off and was suddenly shaken by the loud blast. I could instantly understand that a bomb had exploded," said Ram Balak, who got away with minor injuries. Vineet Tiwari was waiting in his car at a nearby railway crossing saw passengers being thrown out of the coach with the intensity of the explosion. "The blast took place close to the railway crossing where I was waiting in my car and I saw some passengers flying out of the coach just as we heard the bang," Tiwari told IANS over the phone. "On going closer to the mangled train, I saw some of the bodies with severed limbs. It was a gruesome sight," he said.

India says bomb was cause of deadly train blast
(Reuters)

29 July 2005

LUCKNOW, India - Police in India said on Friday that an explosion in a train that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded was caused by a bomb planted in a toilet.

Indian railway officials had earlier suggested the blast late on Thursday near Jaunpur town in northern Uttar Pradesh state may have been caused by a cooking gas cylinder, sometimes carried by villagers on trains.

But bomb experts discounted this on Friday.

“There is enough evidence to confirm the use of RDX explosive,” a member of a police bomb squad, who did not want to be named, told Reuters from the site.

Uttar Pradesh Home (interior) Secretary Alok Sinha said authorities did not have any specific leads on who was behind the blast which occurred in an unreserved coach.

“It certainly is not an accident. It is some explosive planted in the coach,” Sinha told Reuters.

“But who could have been behind it has not been ascertained.”

The RDX high explosive -- also known as hexogen -- has been used by Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir and in the country’s restive northeast region. The rebels have frequently targetted trains in the past.

Bodies flung from train

In Thursday’s explosion, witnesses said some bodies were flung from the door of the moving train by the explosion.

“I was waiting in my car at the railway crossing and there was suddenly a big bang,” Vineet Tiwari said.

“I got out and went closer. It was a horrible sight. People were lying with their limbs severed. Others were crying and screaming,” he said over the telephone.

Police said at least 20 of the 46 wounded were in critical condition.

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