Agencies/Chennai

Twin bombs planted on a train killed one person and wounded 14 in Chennai yesterday, the latest attack during ongoing national elections, officials said.

The low-intensity blasts occurred in carriages of an overnight train from Bangalore as it pulled into Chennai central station shortly after 7am.

A 22-year-old woman working at IT outsourcing firm TCS was killed when one of the devices which had been placed underneath her seat exploded, said Rakesh Misra, general manager of the southern region for Indian Railways.

“Civil police... are investigating what kind of bomb it was and why anyone would have placed the bomb,” he told reporters at the scene.

Another 14 people were injured, Chennai police chief J K Tripathi said, at least two of them seriously.

Security forces cordoned off the blood-splattered platform where a large crowd of onlookers and delayed passengers gathered, while searches by bomb detection teams were stepped up in other stations.

Tripathi said that they were yet to detain any suspects, despite local media reports of one or two people being questioned over the crude explosives.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attack, saying that “such barbaric acts targeting innocent men, women and children only highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible.”

A security alert was issued in Tamil Nadu as well as in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh further afield. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi, tipped to be the next prime minister, was campaigning in Andhra Pradesh yesterday.

Multiple low-intensity explosions are typically the hallmark of the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown militant network which is thought to have been weakened by the recent arrests of senior figures.

Sixteen people were killed in February 2013 when bombs strapped to bicycles exploded in the southern city of Hyderabad in an attack blamed on the network.

Even before the explosions, security agencies had increased surveillance on suspected members of the group

Police believe the IM was behind blasts at a campaign rally that Modi addressed in eastern India last October. The IM poses the most serious threat so far from a home-grown group in India. 

India’s election, which ends on May 16 with results, has seen repeated attacks by Maoist rebels based in the forests of central India who have killed at least 25 so far.

One panic-stricken passenger said he saw three to four people “writhing in pain” after the blast on the train, which was set to terminate in the northeastern city of Guwahati.

The injured have been taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

The dead woman was identified as an employee of Bangalore-based TCS, with the firm saying it was “deeply shocked and saddened at this unfortunate loss of life of our colleague in this tragic incident.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time,” said a spokesman.

Her grandmother, named as Rajalakshmi, said she was travelling home and was set to marry in another two months.

“She was to come home today. But now only her body is coming,” she was quoted as saying.

Security has been tightened across India as the country holds its six-week general election.

Voting has already taken place in most major cities, including Chennai which went to the polls last week.

K Ramanujam, director general of police in Tamil Nadu said Chennai may not have been the target of the blasts because the train was running late.

“It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the blast. Damage to the train is not heavy,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa “strongly condemned” the attacks and urged people not to panic.

Her rival and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi said the incident could have been prevented had the state government taken proper action after the arrest of a Sri Lankan with links to Pakistan’s spy agency.

Karunanidhi said no proper follow-up action was taken after the arrest of Mohamed Zakir Hussain two days ago by the police.

Tamil Nadu police arrested Hussain, alleged to have links with ISI, on charges of plotting to damage vital installations in the state.

Families of the victims will receive compensation, Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.

The train continued its journey towards Guwahati in Assam once the three damaged coaches were replaced.