Bomb Kills 7 in New Delhi Rail Station

NEW DELHI —  At least seven people were killed and 50 injured today when a powerful time bomb filled with nuts and bolts ripped through New Delhi railway station during the morning rush hour.

The blast was so powerful that one victim was hurled into the 65-foot-high ceiling, police said. Twelve of the injured lost arms or legs.

“The whole place was full of smoke, and I thought the building was going to come down,” one of the injured, Aghnu Singh, told reporters.

“I could see people running helter-skelter and shouting for help, but to no avail.”

No arrests were made immediately, and police said no one had claimed responsibility, but first suspicions were directed at Sikh militants fighting for an independent homeland in Punjab in northwest India.

A hospital spokesman said that many of the injured were in serious condition and that the death toll could climb.

‘Constantly Vigilant’

Railway Minister Madhav Rao Scindia, speaking to reporters at the station, would not comment on who might have planted the bomb.

“We are constantly vigilant for this,” Scindia said. “Our sniffer dogs are always roaming . . . but the (rail) system is very extensive.”

Delhi authorities said last week that Sikh extremists might be planning to strike in the capital, as they had before.

Police said the bomb, which went off shortly after 10 a.m., was fitted with a timer and filled with nuts and bolts to create shrapnel.

They said it was concealed in a bedroll or a carrying case and gouged a small crater in the concrete floor, which was spattered with blood and littered with spilled food and torn clothes.

About 1,000 people were in the station lobby at the peak of the morning rush hour. The injured were taken to hospitals in rickshaws and three-wheeler taxis, witnesses said.