Title - No proof of bast, say forensic experts

NELLORE: The forensic experts have almost ruled out the `blast theory', stating that they did not find anything concrete to suspect an explosion in the S-11 coach of Tamil Nadu Express that caught fire on Monday.

"It is too early to give our impression on the cause of the fire. However, we did not find any credible evidence to look at the blast angle," FSL assistant director Venkateswarlu said here on Tuesday. He said they had gathered burnt material from the coach and would conduct a scientific evaluation to find out the reasons behind the devastating fire. He said they would try to submit a report to the state government as well as the railways within a week. A team of experts, comprising Venkateswarlu, senior scientist Gopinath and others inspected the burnt coach at platform No 4 at the Nellore railway station. The platform was barricaded and made out of bounds for passengers in view of the ongoing probe.

The team spent more than two hours gathering evidence and examining the coach. Sources said the investigators stumbled across mechanical battery parts, broken mobiles and electrical wires from the cinders. Although the batteries recovered from the coach strenthened the blast theory, the forensic experts were tightlipped on their findings.

When asked whether the mishap was due to a blast or short-circuit, another investigating official said: "We have collected some samples from inside the bogie. We cannot come to a conclusion or form an opinion until completion of the probe." A passenger S Madanlal of Vijayawada, who travelled in the coach, created a flutter earlier in the day when he claimed that he heard three blasts before the fire.

However, police said that they did not find anything suspicious to point fingers at the blast.

"Any explosion would have blown the bodies of the victims to pieces," pointed out a senior GRP official. He said that most of the bodies recovered from the coach did not bear any indication of blast. "Only some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition," he said, ruling out explosion in the train.