Explosion on Bhopal-Ujjain passenger injures nine on the eve of the last phase of U.P. Assembly elections

A day before the last phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh, nine persons were injured in a blast in the general coach of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train near Jabdi in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

Hours after the incident, three terror suspects each were arrested in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and Saifullah, a suspect holed up in a building in Lucknow, was killed after an encounter lasting several hours. Police were trying to secure two of his associates, Azhar Khan and Ghous Md. Khan.

A source told The Hindu  that the module was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) and the accused were getting directions from their handler who is not from India. The module was under watch for several months.

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8 injured in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast

IM style attack

A senior Madhya Pradesh police official described the train blast as a terror attack. He said an improvised explosive device (IED) that was planted on the upper berth was a “pressure pipe bomb,” that was once used by the now defunct Indian Mujahideen (IM).

The official said the bomb was planted around 8 a.m. when the train started from Bhopal. The two people who planted it were arrested by the M.P. police following a tipoff from central intelligence agencies. “The bomb was prepared in Lucknow and it’s a mystery to us why the accused went all the way to Bhopal to plant it. It was a low intensity bomb and was made from gunpowder,” said a top intelligence official.

Those arrested are: Danish Akhtar, Syed Meer Hussain and Atish Muzaffar (all from Madhya Pradesh); Mohammed Faisal Khan, Mohammed Imran and Fakre Alam (all from Uttar Pradesh). They are in the age group of 25-35. Officials said most of them were well educated but unemployed.

“The explosion took place in the general coach around 9.45 a.m. when the train was running between Jabri and Kalapipal stations,” the Railway Ministry tweeted. At 11.33 a.m., the Ministry posted a video of a passenger narrating the events surrounding the blast.