Sabotage suspected on passenger train in Kerala
By IANSThursday, July 8, 2010
MALAPPURAM - The brake pipes of a passenger train in Kerala were found snapped Thursday, said officials who suspect sabotage.
“We have reports that it (brake pipes) was cut, and it can only be done by exerting force and using an axe saw blade,” said a railway official on the condition of anonymity.
“Every train driver first tests the brakes. It was through a test that the driver found that the brakes were not in order,” the official said.
This brake test on the Nilambur-Shornur passenger train was done at around 6.45 a.m. at the Nilambur railway station.
“First we noticed that the brake pipe from the engine to the first coach was snapped. Later we found that other brake pipes too were snapped,” the official added.
A special police team has begun investigation.
In another development, passengers travelling by the Vanchinad Express to Thiruvananthapuram found detonators in a packet in a compartment and handed it over to police at the Mavelikara railway station.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said both incidents were being viewed seriously by the government.
