Mumbai pays homage to 7/11 blast victims on 1st ann

Mumbai, July 11: The first anniversary of the 7/11 suburban serial train blasts was marked by paying homage to the blast victims, and several programmes were also organised in the memory of those killed.

In view of the first anniversary of the July 11 train that killed 187 commuters, the Maharashtra Police had also been put on high alert and security had been beefed up across the state.

Western railway organised a blood donation camp where hundreds of youth donated blood as a mark of tribute to the victims. At Mahim station, the WR general manager and senior railway officials laid a wreath at the memorial site.

Meanwhile, the Western Railway also re-ran the local train, attached with the refurbished coach, which had got damaged due to the blast impact, from the Churchgate station.

The police was at maximum vigil in view of the anniversary and ensured that no untoward incidents took place in the Island city and its suburbs.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader L K Advani also visited the city and paid tributes. He lamented that the government has done preciously little to mitigate the sufferings of the families affected by the tragedy.

Shockingly, two of the survivors are still battling for life and remain in coma at the Jaslok and Hinduja hospitals even after a year.

Two year, seven near-simultaneous explosions during the evening peak hour on July 11 in different first class compartments of suburban trains had left 187 dead and injured 812 others.

However, even after one year, the alleged masterminds of the conspiracy are still at large while the trial of 13 chargesheeted persons is yet to begin. The Anti Terrorism Squad of the city police, which investigated the case, has arrested 13 people and filed a 10,000-page chargesheet in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here.

The city police had announced that the case had been solved and said the blasts were masterminded by the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and carried out with the help of cadre from the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

However, LeT chief Azam Cheema and many others, who played pivotal roles including planting the bombs, are still at large.

ATS filed the chargesheet in the case last November and the framing of charges against the suspects is yet to begin. It has been delayed on three occasions earlier and is likely to commence on July 30.

The ATS received the first lead in what then Mumbai police commissioner A N Roy called as a ''blinder'' of a case, after it tracked several calls being made to places on the Indo-Nepal border.

The police claim that the RDX used in the blasts was brought through the porous Indo-Bangladesh border by a Pakistani national and wanted accused Ehsanullah.

However, the pressure cooker theory does not find any mention in the chargesheet.

UNI

RelatedStories