KURUKSHETRA(Har) : Mortar bombs were found lying close to the railway tracks near Shahbad railway station in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district today, following which rail traffic was briefly suspended on the route and a massive search operation was launched by the security forces.
A senior police officer said that around eight 51 mm mortar bombs, were found lying near the tracks in the morning. Some boxes were also found lying along side the explosives.
“These are very high grade explosives, generally supplied to the Army and paramilitary forces,” Kurukshetra’s Superintendent of Police, Simardeep Singh told over phone.
He said that the bombs were live and Army experts from Ambala Cantonment had taken these into possession.
Asked if these bombs could have exploded and caused casualties, Singh said, “a mortar (a weapon which fires the explosives) would have been needed to fire these.”
Police said that some passersby noticed the explosives in Dolu Majra village near Shahbad after which the police was alerted.
Singh said the Government Railway Police (GRP) had registered a case against unknown persons under the provisions of the Explosives Substances Act.
He said it was being investigated how the explosives reached the spot. “The Army experts have taken note of the markings on the explosives,” he said.
The police officer further said that GRP team, Kurukshetra district police, Railway Protection Force were conducting a search over a large area from the spot where the bombs were found to see if any more explosives were lying around.
After the explosives were found, about dozen trains including Shatabdi Express were stopped on Delhi-Ambala rail track for some time.
Later, the rail traffic on the route resumed.
Twelve trains were stopped on the route for a while as a precautionary measure, police said. Among the trains which were briefly halted included Shan-e-Punjab, Delhi-Amritsar Express and Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi.
Meanwhile, the railways traffic on the Ambala-Delhi main railway line remained suspended for three hours from 8 am to 11 am, officials said.
All the trains including the Shatabadi Express were stopped at Kurukshetra and Ambala railway station.
According to SHO, GRP, Ambala, Brij Pal, they received a telephone call from villagers in the morning that few live bombs were found near the railway track.
The police swung into action and police teams reached the spot. The railways were also alerted and directed to immediately halt the trains.
He said that the bomb diffusing squads were summoned from Madhuban police academy near Karnal.
The military personnel and senior railway officials from Ambala also reached the spot.
Pal said that the investigation in the case were going on. He, however, said that while the bombs were scattered and boxes were also found, there was a possibility that the box containing the bombs belonging to military consignment may have fallen at the spot from a train. (AGENCIES)
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