Kanpur: Passengers of the Kalindi Express had a miraculous escape after an alert locomotive driver pulled the emergency breaks of the train after it collided with an LPG cylinder placed on the track in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Monday.
Inspector General of Police (IG) of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Neelabhja Chaudhary inspected the spot closely on Monday and said that an attempt was made to derail the train. "Security agencies are looking into every aspect. Anything clear about this could be said only after investigation," she said.
The recovery of explosives in a sweets box and a petrol-filled bottle near the incident site raises suspicion of a conspiracy to derail the train, sources said.
The train was going from Anwarganj in Kanpur to Bhiwani when the incident took place in the Shivrajpur area around 8.30 PM on Sunday, police said.
Police sources said investigators were questioning the staff of the sweets shop whose box was found near the incident spot.
Additional Police Commissioner (ACP) Harish Chandra said that a conspiracy was hatched to derail the train by placing a domestic liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder on the railway track near pillar number 37/17 between Barrajpur and Bilhaur railway stations at around 8.30 PM on Sunday night.
"As soon as the loco pilot felt that a heavy object had hit the engine, he applied emergency brakes and stopped the train," he said.
He said that the security agencies immediately swung into action as soon as the information was received.
"Railway Protection Force (RPF) informed the local police about the incident. A domestic LPG cylinder and a bottle filled with petrol, matchboxes, and a suspicious bag were recovered near the track," he said.
Soon after the incident, the Kalindi Express remained halted on the track for about 22 minutes before resuming its journey. As a precaution, the Lucknow Bandra Express, going from Lucknow to Bandra Terminus, was also stopped at Bilhaur station, an official said.
As soon as the information about the incident was received, the Railway Superintendent of Anwarganj station, RPF, and other officials reached the spot.
During the investigation, marks of rubbing of an iron-like object were found on the track, an official said.
The RPF examined the railway track and the surrounding bushes with the help of a dragon and searchlight. The case is being investigated after forensic tests of the items recovered from the spot, sources said.