New Delhi: The death toll from the Sunday midnight's tragedy that struck the Delhi-Atari Samjhauta Express near Panipat has shot up to 67 even as security experts have revealed that a "new type" of explosive material was used in the blasts. Most of the dead are supposed to be Pakistani nationals.
Official data, however, put the casualty figure at 66 dead and 13 injured. However, unofficial sources put the death toll at 67. Only seven bodies have been identified so far, three of whom are Pakistanis and four Indians. Thirteen people were seriously injured in the incident.
The exact number of people who sustained minor injuries was not immediately clear. Railway sources said there were 527 passengers on board the train.
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.
Forensic experts at the site said a deadly cocktail of low-intensity explosives and kerosene bombs were used to trigger the blasts and the fire. Northern Railway General Manager V N Mathur said that two suitcases containing IEDs were recovered from train and the track, one of which contained petrol or kerosene. The live IEDs were defused.
Railway minister Lalu Yadav immediately rushed to the spot. While conceding that it was a security lapse, Yadav said security checks have limitations. He revealed that one person has been detained in connection with the twin blasts.
"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 told reporters after visiting the blast victims admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.
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.
An RPF constable Kashmir, 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.
Union Minister of State for Home Shri Prakash Jaiswal says the government had no prior information on the attack. "We had no prior information and whatever has happened after investigations we will be able to say something. But it's very unfortunate," he said.
Union Home Secretary V K Duggal said in New Delhi that two improvised explosive devices with timers were used to trigger the explosions. Three IEDs were defused at the site.
Asked about the group responsible for the terror strike, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said, "We have got enough inputs, but we are not going to divulge them at this moment as this would hamper our investigation."
Meanwhile, the Haryana police on Monday sent a "factual report" to the Centre on the train blasts. "The report is a general one on what time the blast occurred, what the investigations have revealed so far and what relief and rescue measures have been taken among other things," state Director-General of Police Ranjiv Dalal said.
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