With a view to prevent recurrence of blasts in trains, the Centre is contemplating an amendment to the Railway Protection Force Act to empower the force with investigating powers, Minister of State for Railways Bandaru Dattatreya said in Mumbai on Friday.

Addressing a press conference after visiting the site of the blast in suburban Mulund, which claimed 12 lives, the minister said, as of now, this Act deals only with protection of railway property.

It is proposed to arm the force with investigating powers except in cases of murders and dacoities, he said explaining  that the amendment would help in stringent enforcement of disciplinary supervision and enable strict vigilance on platforms and in trains, Dattatreya said.

The government would recruit 3,000 more people in the Railway Protection Force, he said.

The railways would also embark upon an awareness drive to educate people on prevention of such blasts, he said adding about 6.4million (64 lakh) commuters travel daily by local trains and it is difficult to check every train to fish out suspicious objects.

Dattatreya said the RPF would be trained in handling arms and ammunition, including explosives.

Earlier, he visited the Kalva car shed of the Central Railway to inspect the damaged coach in which the explosion occurred.

Dattatreya said bodies of the victims had been handed over to the relatives. The railways had provided immediate compensation of Rs 15,000 to the relatives of the victims who were killed in the blast.

RPF Director General Anil Pandey later told reporters that police suspect a crude bomb used in the blast.

Samples collected from the blast site had been sent to a forensic laboratory for testing, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya alleged that the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was behind the blast and that the state government is aware of this.

He demanded the state government make public an alleged report on this issue.