(News) Bomb scare in Sampark Kranti

Bomb scare in Sampark Kranti

Train traffic on Mahoba route was thrown out of gear till late on Wednesday night after a suspicious object - assumed to be an explosive device - was found in the toilet cabin of S-2 coach of Sampark Kranti Express train plying between Manikpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in New Delhi. The train was stopped at the Mahoba railway station at around 10pm.

Immediately after the suspicious object was spotted, authorities ordered the train to be vacated. The entire railway station was cordoned off as officials summoned the bomb disposal squad. The object, comprising a red steel box fitted with flickering red, blue and green lights and electricity cable wiring, was noticed by a passenger who then raised an alarm.

The incident left the Mahoba railway route blocked, leaving several trains stranded at the railway stations in Jhansi and Gonda on either sides. Some of the important trains stranded included Maha Kaushal train from Delhi, Jabalpur Express from Lucknow, and Bundelkhand Express (both up and down) plying between Manikpur and Bundelkhand region.

Thousands-odd passengers evacuated from the train had a harrowing time waiting for an alternative to proceed with their onward journey. What added to their miseries was the fact that the Mahoba railway station is almost five kilometres away from the district headquarters. Left without any alternate mode of transport, food, and water, passengers were agitated.

Feeling the pulse of the situation, the authorities decided to detach the S-2 coach at Mahoba and allow the rest of the train to move on its onward journey. The passengers of S-2 coach were accommodated in an additional coach. After extensive checking of the remaining coaches, the train chugged off the Mahoba station around 11:30pm. The stranded trains on the route were expected to be cleared within the next couple of hours.

What lend weight to the possibilities of the object being a bomb was the fact that because of the concluding day of Amawasya Mela, the train was over crowded, making it an ideal target for the terror modules to strike.

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Courtesy: Timesofindia.indiatimes.com