CHENNAI, DEC 7: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the three train blasts which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, killing nine and injuring over 70 persons in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

According to an official press release on Sunday, the chief minister had requested Railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan to order a CBI enquiry into the blasts. Karunanidhi has also written to Prime Minister I K Gujral and Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta in this regard.

The chief minister also issued a stern warning against those indulging in communal violence, stating that the government would not show any mercy in punishing those responsible for the blasts.

In a statement on Sunday, the chief minister, while condemning the serial train bomb blasts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, urged the people to unite and fight against those instigating communal violence and help in maintaining peace and communal harmony. He warned that violence was like a double-edged knife which struck back the perpetrators finally.

Expressing anguish over the blasts, he said those indulging in caste clashes which affected the nation's unity should be identified as anti-nationals. There have been such violent incidents in the past but Saturday's train blasts was the worst, he pointed out.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.