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Train Blast Fuels India's Independence Day Security Fears
NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (News Agencies) - A bomb blast on a train killed three people and injured 14 on Tuesday on the eve of India's Independence Day, despite a massive security operation to prevent threatened attacks.
The train was traveling from the holy Hindu pilgrimage town of Hardwar to the Indian capital when the bomb went off at 3:40 pm (1010 GMT) as it was approaching the town of Muradnagar, northeast of New Delhi, a railway spokesman said.
He said one person was killed on the spot, while two later died of their injuries in hospital.
Another critically injured person was battling for his life.
Police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh said they suspected Muslims who had been traveling on the train as responsible for the blast.
Parts of a crude bomb were found in the pocket of one Muslim, who was injured and admitted to hospital, they said.
Train bombings have become a regular feature in the run-up to the annual August 15th Independence Day celebrations, when outfits in Kashmir and the northeast step up operations.
Hundreds of thousands of security personnel have been deployed in sensitive regions across India ahead of Wednesday's official ceremonies.
In southern Kashmir, two Indian security personnel were injured in a cross-border exchange of heavy machine-gun fire with Pakistani troops, Indian army sources said.
Pakistan marked its Independence Day on Tuesday.
The Indian capital New Delhi was under heavy security cover provided by some 70,000 police and paramilitary personnel.
"We are taking all precautions. Checking of vehicles and people we deem suspicious is being carried out," said police commissioner Suresh Roy.
Security in and around the Mughal-built Red Fort where Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will address the nation was particularly tight.
The Red Fort, which houses a 500-strong military garrison, was the scene of a surprise attack by members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba in December.
Helicopter surveillance was to be maintained around the fort, which has been declared a no-fly zone for the day.
Elite "Black Cat" commandos have already been deployed at Delhi's domestic and international airport terminals.
"We have reports of some movements of [Islamic] militants into Delhi, which is why border checkpoints have been increased," a police official said.
Police in Uttar Pradesh said they had arrested two Lashkar-e-Taiba members and found 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of plastic explosives.
In Indian-occupied Kashmir, border guards backed by police sealed off official venues for Independence Day celebrations.
Security will be especially tight this year amid a sharp increase in separatist-linked violence in the region.
The main focus of the security operation was the Bakshi Stadium in the Kashmiri summer capital Srinagar, where Kashmir's military and government chiefs gather for the official ceremony each year.
In northeastern India, more than 100,000 federal troops were deployed across seven states to prevent any violence, with at least 12 groups calling for a 17-hour strike to coincide with Independence Day.
The shutdown - beginning at midnight on August 14 (1830 GMT on Tuesday) - is to protest against New Delhi's "colonial and repressive" rule.
"We have taken all possible measures so that the rebels cannot take any advantage," Assam police chief Hare Krishna Deka told AFP.
The region is home to a large number of ethnic and tribal groups and has witnessed insurgency dating back five decades, leaving an estimated 75,000 people dead since independence in 1947.
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