GUWAHATI: The tribal militant outfit Adivasi People’s Army (APA) on Monday claimed responsibility for last night’s blast on railway tracks that derailed the Guwahati-Puri Express, injuring over 70 passengers.
The APA, in an email, has claimed responsibility for the blast and warned of more such attacks, local television reports said, quoting army intelligence.
The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) (anti-talks) was suspected to have triggered the blast before the APA claimed the responsibility.
The APA was also involved in the bomb recovery made from the Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchenjunga Express at Guwahati railway station last month.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has ordered inquiry into the mishap. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, NFR Circle, Balbir Singh who works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, will conduct a statutory inquiry into the derailment of 15640 Down Guwahati – Puri Express.
The inquiry will be held at Divisional Railway Manager’s office at Rangiya from 10.00 hours on July 13 and 14 next, the NFR headquarter here informed.
Blast completely damaged a 200-meter stretch of the railway track on which police recovered fuse wire and detonators were also found. Workers have been working since Sunday night to restore the track and it expected that to be repaired early Monday night.
According to A K Manocha Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Rangiya Division, the loss caused by the blast was estimated to be between Rs 75 to Rs 80 lakh.
The remaining 800 passengers of the ill-fated Guwahati-Puri Express were taken to the destination by a special train this morning.
The Railways has announced Rs one lakh as compensation for each of the three seriously injured passengers of derailed Guwahati-Puri Express while passengers suffering simple injuries will be provided Rs 10,000 each, the NFR spokesman said. (From Our Correspondent and Agencies)
Meanwhile, train services on the section have been affected with several trains diverted or cancelled.
(EoM)
