Madhya Pradesh Inspector General Makrand Devaskar has confirmed that Tuesday's explosion inside the general coach of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train was a terrorist attack. Devaskar said that it was a low-intensity IED blast and that three people have been arrested in Hoshangabad district.
Nine people were injured in the explosion that took place inside the general coach of the train when it was running between Jabri and Kalapipal railway stations near Shujalpur around 9.50 am.
The train immediately came to a halt following the blast. Passengers panicked and rushed to save themselves after they saw smoke engulfing the coach.
According to News18, it was earlier suspected that a short circuit caused the fire. However, the Railway Police said that they received information about a suitcase bomb that caused the explosion. There are also reports doing the rounds that a mobile phone exploded inside the coach. However, there is no official confirmation yet.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister told ANI there was gunpowder odour coming out of the coach where the blast happened and that an investigation is currently underway to ascertain the cause of the blast.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Bhopal Division IA Siddiqui, however, told ANI that the reason of the explosion is still unknown. He added that the injured have been admitted to the Kalapipal Government Hospital and a medical team has also been sent to the site of the blast.
According to News18, local residents informed the Kalapipal police after they heard the blast and spotted fire coming out of the last coach of the passenger train number 59320. Passengers also told the rescuers that a suitcase exploded inside the train triggering panic among the public.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan told ANI that he was observing the situatio personally and that the ATS and forensic teams were already investigating the incident.
The Madhya Pradesh government has announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 to those injured and Rs 50,000 to those who have been critically injured in the train explosion.
