Passengers of the Howrah-Guwahati down Garibrath Express had a providential escape on Sunday when a powerful bomb exploded on the railway tracks minutes after it passed Goabari in lower Assam's Kokrajhar district. There was no casualty or injury.
The bomb suspected to have been planted by the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) exploded at 1:10 am two minutes after the train passed the area between Gossaigaon and Fakiragram, police said. The blast blew away three feet of railway track and left a two feet deep crater at the spot, they said.
Initially, train services were affected for about five hours. But the line was repaired and train services restored in the morning. As the railway line is a double track one, the trains scheduled to pass over the damaged track were diverted to the adjacent one, railway sources said. Security forces have launched a search operation to nab the ultras.
Kokrajhar, Feb. 3: A major tragedy was averted today when suspected militants triggered an improvised explosive device on the railway track at Guabari between Chowtara and Gossaigaon stations in Kokrajhar district around 1.10am, just after the down Garibrath Express passed the area.
“Suspected militants triggered a powerful explosion on the tracks targeting the Howrah-Guwahati down Garibrath Express at Guabari in the wee hours today. Fortunately, the IED exploded minutes after the train passed the No. 237 railway bridge at Guabari,” a GRPF official said.
The blast was so powerful that it blew away seven feet of railway track apart from creating a deep hole at the spot. “The track was fully damaged by the blast,” a police official said. The police recovered 20 metres of wire from the site and suspect it to be an IED blast.
Top police and railway officials rushed to the spot and railway engineers began repairing the damaged track. The line was repaired and train services were restored in the morning. Railway officials informed the trains scheduled to pass through the area were not affected as they were diverted to an adjacent track.
A massive search operation has been launched to track down the culprits. Guabari is around 40km from Kokrajhar town and 6km from Gossaigaon.
The incident comes close on the heels of another incident where a portion of the track was cut up at Singhimari between Kokrajhar and Salakati railway stations in the district the previous night. The distance between the places of the two incidents is around 50km.
Unidentified men cut up about 2.60 metres of tracks late last night at Singhimari. A patrolling Railway Protection Force (RPF) came across the cut-up portion, averting a major tragedy.
Kokrajhar superintendent of police, Sunil Kumar, said the vigil along the railway tracks has been intensified to avert subversive activities. “Till now, no militant group has claimed the responsibility of the blast.” He said several persons had been picked up for interrogation.
“Suspected militants triggered a powerful explosion on the tracks targeting the Howrah-Guwahati down Garibrath Express at Guabari in the wee hours today. Fortunately, the IED exploded minutes after the train passed the No. 237 railway bridge at Guabari,” a GRPF official said.
The blast was so powerful that it blew away seven feet of railway track apart from creating a deep hole at the spot. “The track was fully damaged by the blast,” a police official said. The police recovered 20 metres of wire from the site and suspect it to be an IED blast.
Top police and railway officials rushed to the spot and railway engineers began repairing the damaged track. The line was repaired and train services were restored in the morning. Railway officials informed the trains scheduled to pass through the area were not affected as they were diverted to an adjacent track.
A massive search operation has been launched to track down the culprits. Guabari is around 40km from Kokrajhar town and 6km from Gossaigaon.
The incident comes close on the heels of another incident where a portion of the track was cut up at Singhimari between Kokrajhar and Salakati railway stations in the district the previous night. The distance between the places of the two incidents is around 50km.
Unidentified men cut up about 2.60 metres of tracks late last night at Singhimari. A patrolling Railway Protection Force (RPF) came across the cut-up portion, averting a major tragedy.
Kokrajhar superintendent of police, Sunil Kumar, said the vigil along the railway tracks has been intensified to avert subversive activities. “Till now, no militant group has claimed the responsibility of the blast.” He said several persons had been picked up for interrogation.
No comments:
Post a Comment