Day After Kanpur Train Derailment Bid, Iron Rods Found on Railway Tracks in Bathinda

Bathinda: In the past two months, several incidents of suspected train derailment attempts have been reported across India; in another such incident, iron rods were recovered from the Bathinda to Delhi railway tracks in Punjab 's Bathinda, pointing towards another alleged derailment conspiracy.

Iron Rods Recovered from Bathinda-Delhi Railway Tracks

As mentioned earlier, in another suspected train derailment bid, several iron rods were recovered from the railway tracks on Bathinda, going to Delhi. Fortunately, no train was running on those tracks at that time and thus a major mishap was averted. This incident was reported on the evening of Sunday, September 23.

Investigation Underway on Suspected Train Derailment Bid

Shavinder Kumar, Investigating Officer, Government Railway Police, Bathinda said in a statement, “...9 iron rods have been recovered from the spot. GRP (Government Railway Police) has registered a case against an unknown person and further investigation is being done.”

Series of Train Derailment Bids in Last Few Days

This was the second alleged train derailment attempt in one day; hours before the Bathinda Bid, an attempt to derail a train was made in Kanpur again. A conspiracy to overturn a train was hatched in Kanpur once again after a small gas cylinder was placed on the railway tracks near the Prempur railway station of Maharajpur. This incident happened at Prempur station around 5:50 in the morning. The accident was averted after the alert loco pilot pulled the emergency brakes and stopped the train in time. When the JTTN goods train was about to stop on the loop line near Prempur station near Kanpur, its loco pilot Devendra Gupta saw a cylinder lying on the track. He immediately applied emergency brakes and stopped the train.

An attempted train derailment was thwarted on Saturday after miscreants removed fish plates and keys from a railway track near Kim Railway Station in Surat, Gujarat . According to Western Railway's Vadodara Division, some unidentified individual removed the fish plates and keys from the UP line track and placed them back on the track, halting train movement. However, services were soon restored following the incident.

A major train accident was averted in the first week of September by an alert loco pilot as the Bhiwani-Prayagraj Kalindi Express was brought to a screeching halt after hitting an LPG cylinder placed on tracks. A bottle of petrol and matchboxes were also found at the site hinting at a sabotage bid following which local police lodged an FIR. A multi-agency probe, including by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Anti-Terrorist Squad of UP Police, was launched into the matter which officials suspected could have terror links.