Commuters take no chances in trains

Mumbai: "Brothers look under your seats for bombs or anything," shouted Vinay Diwakar, a commuter on a Mumbai suburban train on Thursday, two days after bombs on the rail network of Mumbai killed 186 people.

Mumbai's commuters are back on the city's packed railways in their millions, but with a sense of unease and suspicion as they try to come to grips with the blasts.

Mumbai’s suburban trains commuters have been checking under their seats, keeping an eye on luggage and even asking other passengers to identify their bags.

"Suspect everyone and look for a potential bomber," Diwakar, a 47-year-old lawyer, told fellow passengers on a train to downtown Mumbai on Thursday.

Mumbai's suburban railway, the mainstay of the transport system, is a picture of jam-packed round-the-clock crowds.

Each nine-car train carries some 5,000 passengers during peak hours, nearly three times the official capacity, with some even travelling on the roof.

Some people stayed away from work the day after the blasts, but the trains seemed as packed as ever on Thursday.

"Our trains are so crowded that it is difficult to monitor everyone. Even police cannot do it. But we should try to be vigilant," said Sanjay Mohite, another regular commuter.

Mumbai's authorities are considering installing metal detectors and closed circuit television at all railway stations.

"It's good that people are alert and responsible," Mumbai Police Chief A N Roy said adding, "This will greatly help us in our job."

On Thursday, alert train passengers handed over four people to police at the northern suburb station of Bhayander after they were seen "roaming suspiciously", police say.

The four men, aged between 20 and 22 years, were each carrying a bag, which they tried to throw away when confronted by the passengers.

Police said that the four men were still being questioned to see if there was any connection with Tuesday's explosions on crowded evening rush-hour railway carriages and stations in which nearly 700 people were wounded.

Investigators said that they had prepared sketches of three suspects seen at some of the bombsites and were working on several leads.

Suspicion has fallen on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir that, authorities say, was also behind bomb blasts in crowded markets in New Delhi last October that killed more than 60.