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Train blast kills five in Assam | Train blast kills five in Assam |
(about 13 hours later) | |
A bomb has ripped through a parcel van of a passenger train in India's north-east state of Assam, killing five people and injuring several others. | A bomb has ripped through a parcel van of a passenger train in India's north-east state of Assam, killing five people and injuring several others. |
The Delhi-bound train had left Dibrugarh and was headed for the state capital Guwahati when it was hit by the explosion at around 0120 (1950 GMT). | |
A tribal guerrilla group, the Adivasi National Liberation Army, says it carried out the attack. | |
It wants the same rights for Adivasis that they have in other Indian states. | |
The Adivasis are descendants of tribals from central India who were taken to Assam during British rule to work in the tea gardens. | |
Adivasis in the states of Jharkhand and Bihar are classified as Scheduled Tribes, which gives them considerable benefits in education and employment. | |
'Deep crater' | |
"Our guerrillas used a remote controlled device to set off the explosion," Dilip Beg, a spokesman of the Adivasi National Liberation Army told the BBC. | |
"We shall continue with such attacks in the coming days, until the Assam government and the Indian government confers Scheduled Tribe status on the Adivasis." | |
Assam police intelligence chief Khagen Sarmah said there was a deep crater at the site of the explosion. | Assam police intelligence chief Khagen Sarmah said there was a deep crater at the site of the explosion. |
"It appears the explosive was planted on the track but we need more investigation to establish that," the official added. | "It appears the explosive was planted on the track but we need more investigation to establish that," the official added. |
The damaged train - the Rajdhani Express - was taken to Chongajan railway station and the passengers then taken to Guwahati on a separate train to enable them make the onward journey to Delhi. | |
On Monday, a Delhi-bound passenger train, the Brahmaputra Mail, was derailed near the railway junction of New Jalpaiguri in the neighbouring state of West Bengal, resulting in one death and several people injured. | On Monday, a Delhi-bound passenger train, the Brahmaputra Mail, was derailed near the railway junction of New Jalpaiguri in the neighbouring state of West Bengal, resulting in one death and several people injured. |
Sabotage was not ruled out as the train was carrying a large number of Indian army soldiers and paramilitary troops going home to north Indian states on leave from Assam. | Sabotage was not ruled out as the train was carrying a large number of Indian army soldiers and paramilitary troops going home to north Indian states on leave from Assam. |
Assam has a number of insurgent groups, many of them are active in the area where Thursday's explosion took place. | |
These groups have a history of attacking the railways as they provide an easy target. | |
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