'Detonators' put on way of Army train set off alarm

INDORE/KANPUR: In what seems to be yet more attempts to sabotage railway operations, it has come to light that railway 'detonators' were placed on tracks in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam on September 18 when an Army special train was passing through. The revelation came on a day when an empty gas cylinder was found on the tracks at Prempur station near Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur.

Since Aug this year, at least six alleged attempts have been made in UP to sabotage railway operations.

In MP's Burhanpur district, the 10 'railway detonators' were found placed at intervals of a metre each. The railways called it an "attempt at mischief". The Army has requested custody of certain key railway personnel, including signalmen and trackmen, for questioning as part of the probe.

Read also: Another train sabotage? Iron pole placed across railway track in Uttarakhand

Cops: Train was carrying Army personnel and weapons
Sources said a gangman has been detained but there is no official confirmation. He is alleged to have done this in a drunken rage.

The train, headed for Thiruvananthapuram, was carrying Army personnel and weapons, police sources said. A couple of the detonators — more like firecrackers — exploded when the train passed over them. The loco pilot pulled the brakes the moment he heard the first explosion. The train was halted for half an hour at Sagphata station, while the area was inspected.

“Ten railway detonators were placed over a 10m distance on the Mumbai rail route between Sagphata and Dongargaon railway stations,” Dr Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, told TOI.

In the incident near Kanpur, the 5-litre cylinder was removed from the tracks by police after a thorough examination. “Around 5.50am, locopilots Dev Anand Gupta and C B Singh of the Jorhat-bound freight train spotted an empty cylinder on the tracks ahead of the signal. The crew promptly applied emergency brakes to avert a potential catastrophe,” read a statement issued by North Central Railway (NCR). Two empty beer cans and a snack wrapper were also found on the scene.

“The cylinder was placed a mere 30m from the signal. Kanpur Police, RPF and GRP are investigating,” said Om Narayan Singh, SHO of Kanpur Central GRP. “Though the probability of derailment was minuscule as the train’s momentum would have likely propelled the cylinder away, the deliberate placement of the gas cylinder on the track indicates sabotage,” Kanpur police said.

However, the incident near Ratlam in MP rang the alarm bells . Officers from NIA , the Army, anti-terrorism squad, railways and police inspected the site. “While it seems this was done without reason, an inquiry is being conducted by RPF,” said CPRO.