Bomb detected on Delhi-bound train, defused

LUCKNOW - An improvised explosive device (IED) detected in a coach of the New Delhi-bound Sampark-Kranti express at Mahoba railway station in Uttar Pradesh was defused early Thursday, averting a major tragedy.

According to state Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal: “The IED was planted in the toilet of a three-tier coach where it was noticed Wednesday night by a woman passenger who promptly informed the cops at the station.”

The bomb could be defused only after the arrival of a bomb disposal team past midnight, he said.

The train reached Mohaba, some 300 km from Lucknow, at 9.30 p.m. and left the station after six hours during which the coach with the bomb was detached and shifted to a corner of the yard, he said.

“We have now sent the remains of the explosive device for forensic analysis that will give us an idea about its intensity,” Lal said.

“The bomb was noticed by Kaushla Devi, a middle-aged passenger, as soon as she entered the toilet after embarking at Mahoba station that was the first halt after Chitrakoot from where the train had started,” he said.

He said after the women raised an alarm, railway authorities got the entire train and platform cleared of passengers and a bomb-disposal squad was summoned from a neighbouring district.