There was an explosion on a passenger train in North India very close to Siliguri where I went this March and plan on going back next March. It happened Monday night India time, Monday morning US time. The perpetrators are not known at this time, but there have been similar train bombings by Islamic militants in India in the past. There is suspicion that the KLO, an Indian Miltant group, may be connected. Here is some of the news report from IBNlive.com.
Blast in West Bengal train; six dead, 50 injured
New Delhi: At least six people are feared dead and more than 50 injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a compartment of the Haldibari-Siliguri passenger train in West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri district on Monday evening. According to the Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railways, Trikal Rabha, the blast occurred in the general compartment No. GS 8321 when the train was standing at Benakowa Station, 18 km from New Jalpaiguri. Train services on the route have been suspended and medical teams have been rushed to the spot.The injured have been rushed to Jalpaiguri Sadar hospital where the condition of some was reported to be critical. Two bogies of the train have been completely damaged.Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray has said that the passenger train was en-route to New Jalpaiguri from Haldibari in Cooch Behar, adding the involvement of any particular militant group or the nature of device was yet to be ascertained.
“There was a loud explosion in the train at around 6:20 pm when it was entering the station. Officials have rushed to the spot and have already identified five dead bodies and fear at least 66 people have been injured. They have been rushed to the hospitals. We’ll release the names of the dead as soon as possible,” Ray said.
Ray has also said that the incident is serious and the needle of suspicion points towards the militant organisation Kamtapur Liberation Organisation. He has also said that teams from the Intelligence Bureau and CID will take over the investigation.