Bengal train blast: Saw a man's fingers blown off, recalls witness

Kolkata, May 12: He was one of those few fortunates who remained untouched by the impact of the blast that occurred in a local train in the suburbs in the wee hours of Tuesday. Somnath Goswami, who works with a English daily in Kolkata, spoke to Oneindia about the horrible experience he had faced while returning home from work. [Blast in train in Kolkata suburbs]

"I and a few of my friends boarded the first train from Sealdah for home. We were tired after a long day's work and were almost asleep. As the train went past Titagarh station, we heard an altercation between two persons just a few metres away from where we were sitting."

"When we took notice, we saw one man asking the other to hand over his mobile which the other refused. At this, the first man took out a knife to threaten the other. The very next moment, he grabbed the man he was threatening by his collar and dragged him towards the door."

"When he failed to snatch the mobile phone, he took out a bomb from his pocket and it exploded in his hand and he lost his limb," said a traumatised Goswami from his home in Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas district.

A number of people in the compartment were injured in the blast. "I saw a person's fingers were blown off and blood was all over us. People were so much frightened that some even tried to jump from the running train to save themselves. We were completely shocked and did not know what to do," Goswami said.

"We waited till the train reached Barrackpore for we thought it would be a safer place. As soon as the train reached Barrackpore station, we informed the train driver about the incident. We also went to the GRP in Barrackpore but were shocked to see their reaction. They said the case belonged to the RPF. They were busy passing the buck instead of helping out the injured people," he told Oneindia.

Authorities were busy passing the buck even as the injured were seeking help

"One gentleman who was badly injured in his head asked us to take him to a hospital for treatment. We did our best to take the injured to medical service. We sat in the station for an hour for the next train and reached home with a heavy heart."

"The Krishnagar Local in which the blast happened was still standing in the Barrackpore station. I still feel shaken when think that everyday I sit in the place where the blast occurred today but did not today. God must be kind to me," Goswami said.

Oneindia News