US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI5874

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 005874 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, IN, Counter-Terrorism 
SUBJECT: TRAIN BLAST CAUSED BY RDX, GOI LOSING PATIENCE 
 
REF: A. NEW DELHI 5862 NOTAL 
 
     B. NEW DELHI 5522 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (C) A blast on a New Delhi-bound train killing at least 
13 passengers on July 28 was caused by RDX, police sources 
told us, noting that the same explosive was found in the 
possession of the July 5 Ayodhya attackers (Ref B).  Director 
General AK Suri of the Railway Protection Force reported that 
the bomb was placed under a berth in the passenger coach, 
ripping apart the compartment as it traveled through Uttar 
Pradesh.  Suri, a long-time Embassy contact, underlined that 
"it was definitely a terrorist act."  The GOI has not 
commented publicly on the cause of the blast, except for 
early disingenuous speculation from the railway ministry, 
facing accusations of lax security, that it could have been 
an accidental gas cylinder explosion. 
 
Comment: Is This the Last Straw? 
-------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) With a long open border facing Nepal, Uttar Pradesh 
is a free movement zone for Nepalese Maoists, indigenous 
Naxalite groups, and Pakistani-backed jihadists who use 
Kathmandu as a hub of operations.  Any of these could have 
been responsible for the July 28 attack.  While the GOI has 
so far been restrained in the face of an accelerating tempo 
of terrorist activity and cross-border infiltration, the 
government is growing increasingly frustrated with Pakistani 
links to terrorist actions in India.  GOI contacts tell us 
that a major terrorist incident with Pakistani sponsorship 
would put an end to Indo-Pak detente (Ref A).  While 
responsibility for this blast may never be known, the 
India-Pakistan peace process is looking increasingly 
vulnerable to these mounting attacks. 
BLAKE