Terror attack : Death toll raises to 200, Police suspect LeT & SIMI

Mumbai : The toll in Tuesday’s Islamic terror attack in Mumbai rose to 200 today even as the city showed signs of limping back to normalcy.

The police said 200 persons were killed and another 650 injured in the blasts that took place in first class compartments of trains at Mira-Bhayander, Borivli and Jogeshwari (in north Mumbai), Santacruz and Khar (in north-west Mumbai), and Mahim and Matunga (in central Mumbai) and on the Western Railway network yesterday.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has waived cremation charges for victims of the blasts.

The Police said high grade explosive material was used in the blasts but the exact nature of the explosives was yet to be established.

As usual the Indian Home Minster said, “We will not spare any of the culprits and will do everything possible to bring them to book. We appeal to the people to maintain peace”.

Meanwhile, Police suspect Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) to be behind the serial blasts in the suburban trains of Mumbai on Tuesday evening.

The magnitude of the synchronised blasts have conclusively pointed to the use of RDX by the attackers, said Police officials.

According to the police, several modules of LeT and SIMI were busted and huge amounts of explosive materials, including RDX, were recovered during raids at various places in Aurangabad, Nasik and Nagpur over the last two months.

During investigations, it also came to light that similar modules of LeT were actively operating in several towns of Maharashtra, besides Hyderabad and Bangalore.