Was the blast in the Shramjivi Express in Jaunpur district, which left 10 passengers dead and more than 80 injured, the handiwork of of terrorists with links in Pakistan? Investigations by the Government Railway Police (GRP) with inputs from the Special Task Force and the Uttar Pradesh Police indicate more towards a local involvement.

According to a senior officer of the GRP, camping in Varanasi to probe into the blast mystery, the motive behind the Jaunpur incident was to create panic in the minds of the public as well as the law-enforcing agencies without much destruction. Preliminary investigation shows that the local youths, unlike hi-tech terrorists, had used ammonium nitrate and mobil oil as explosives, apart from a timer and some detonator devices to trigger off the explosion. Even the choice of location for the blasts shows that the perpetrators of the crime were not professional terrorists who would have targeted the major metros. The fact that they feared for their lives also supports this theory.

In this background, the GRP personnel have started recording eyewitness accounts to zero in on the culprits. GRP Additional director general B.K. Bhalla says that just before the blast, two youths had jumped off the train after trying to pull the chain inside the train. "They were desperate to get out of the train at any cost and had an altercation with some of the co-
passengers also when they were pulling off the chain," adds one investigator. According to him, the suspected youth has boarded the Patna-Delhi Shramjivi Express from Varanasi and had sneaked into the SLR bogey just behind the engine. They apparently told some passengers in the SLR bogey that it was a military compartment and that they should move to the adjoining general compartment.

The youth are believed to have been in the age group of 25-30 years and were speaking in Hindi and referring to elderly women as "amma". Based on eyewitness accounts, the computerized photos of two of the youths have been released.

The suspects apart, investigation show that that the incident could have been easily avoided had the RPF personnel been alert inside the train. While not a sinle jaan was present inside, even routine checks had been given a go-by earliere. An ex-MLA of Bihar who had boarded the train in Patna had
objected to the presence of the two youth in the SLR bogey but his complaints had fallen on deaf ears. As always, authorities and others alike, became wiser after the event.

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