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SAMJHAUTA EXPRESS FIRE
 On 02/19/2007 midnight a fire sparked by explosions has swept through two carriages of a train, Samjhauta Express, connecting Delhi in India with Lahore in Pakistan, as the train passed near Panipat, about 80km (50 miles) north of Delhi, in the state of Haryana, India, heading to Pakistan. At least 65 people on board where killed in the fire. Most of the victims were Pakistani Muslim civilians.
The blasts happened a day before Pakistan's Foreign Minister was due in Delhi for talks with Indian leaders.
Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and flammable material, including three undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombings, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.
Samjhauta Express is used mainly by Muslims from Pakistan and India who have family connections. Only few Hindus use the train. Indian authorities has established the suitcases where bought in the India city of Indore and the bombs were also assembled there. The investigation could not come to any conclusion whether the perpetrators were Hindu or Muslim militants and the case remains unsolved (02/2009).
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25/02/2009 08:13:55
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