Chennai: A PIL has been filed in the Madras high court seeking a direction to the authorities to transfer the Central station bomb blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and direct Indian Railways to pay a solatium of Rs 25 lakh to family members of the blast victim, P. Swathi.
The petitioner, M. Durai Selvan, an advocate in the high court, submitted that computer engineer Swathi died and many others suffered injuries in the twin bomb blasts at Chennai Central railway station on May 1.
The terror attack unleashed on the Guwahati express in the station was before the Lok Sabha polls, and on the day BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was scheduled to address public meetings in the southern parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Modi had addressed rallies in Madanapalle, Nellore, Guntur and Visakhapatnam: all these places except Guntur falling on the route of the Guwahati express.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the twin blasts. Chennai city police arrested an ISI suspect in Chennai. Indian Railways and southern railway failed to ensure the safety of railway passengers.
The incident posed a threat to the nation and the accused must be nabbed as early as possible. Hence, it must be investigated by Central investigating agencies as per the National Investigating Agency Act, 2008.
However, the state government has transferred the case to the CB-CID. The CB-CID, which was burdened with a number of cases, including several high-profile cases, was not competent to probe terror-related cases.
He prayed that in the interest of the nation, the case should be transferred to the NIA to identify the brain behind the terrorist strike.
The advocate also sought a direction to Indian Railways to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Swathi.
