LUCKNOW: What appears to be a crude bomb was seized from onboard Amritsar bound Kolkata –Amritsat Akal Takth Express (Tr. No.12137), during a security check at Amethi Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh, late on Wednesday night.
Passengers traveling in two coaches of the train were evacuated when a suspicious object was spotted under a wash basin of one of the two 2-tier B3 coaches.
A strange looking object with a white substance strewn around it grabbed the attention of some of the passengers who alerted the guards who were on-board. Soon, the guards informed the Railway authorities in Lucknow about the suspicious object and the train was stopped in Amethi.
A bomb disposal squad reached the spot and took possession of the object. Upon examination, it was found out that the object was a low-intensity explosive.
However, they did not find any battery or circuit attached to it.
A hand-written letter recovered from beside the object said, “India will have to pay for Abu Dujana’s encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. Dujana’s killing will be avenged.”
Dujana, a Pakistani national and a top LeT militant was gunned down on August 1 by security forces during an encounter in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Additional director general of police (Railway) refused to comment, saying that the object was being studied and anything could be said about the nature of the object only after a probe.
A senior DCM of Railways, Shivendra Shukla said the material could be explosive, but there might yet be no terror angle to it.
Police sources said that powdery substance found near the suspicious object would soon be sent to a lab for testing.
After a search, the train continued its onward journey to Amritsar.