Attempted detonation in Patiala intended to blow up rail track; NIA probe likely: Police

Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said that the person who was trying to carry out the detonation on Monday night died in the attempt.

Chandigarh: The blast that took place at a dedicated freight corridor railway track near the Shambhu area in Patiala was an attempted detonation meant to blow up the track, police said on Tuesday.

Noting that the incident marks the second blast at a freight corridor in the past three months, a senior police officer indicated that a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe in the matter is anticipated.

The person who was trying to carry out the detonation on Monday night died in the attempt, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said.

Police have identified the deceased suspect as Jagrup Singh, a resident of Panjwar village in Tarn Taran district.

In CCTV footage, the suspect could be seen parking his motorcycle in Amritsar, Special Director General of Police (Railway) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, who visited the explosion site, said.

The blast took place at a stretch of the Shambhu-Ambala rail track. Police earlier said that an unidentified body, which was blown into pieces, was recovered from the spot, adding that parts of the body were found strewn on the stretch of the rail track.

Initially, it was considered a low-intensity blast. However, investigation has revealed that it was an attempted detonation, police said.

The explosion occurred near Bothonia village on Monday night at the rail track dedicated for freight trains, they said.

It also caused some damage to the track, leaving a small crater underneath the railway line.

Interacting with reporters at the incident site, Dwivedi said the blast took place when a goods train was passing on the track.

The loco pilot felt that something mischievous had occurred and then he raised an alarm, alerting the authorities, she said.

Referring to some "anti-social elements who are against the progress of the country", the officer said this was the the second such attempt at a freight corridor.

To a question on the NIA probe into the incident, the special DGP said as it is the second incident, the NIA will most probably be involved in the investigation.

While noting that there were no CCTV arrangements, she emphasised the need to install cameras at short distances along the corridor.

Meanwhile, the SSP said, "Late night, we had received information about a low-intensity explosion at a railway track near Shambhu-Haryana border. Immediately, I, along with the deputy inspector general of police and other senior officials, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation."

"We found that it was not a low-intensity explosion but an attempted detonation," the SSP said.

Police said they have recovered a SIM card from the spot.

"After getting whatever scientific evidence including a SIM card from the spot, police have launched a technical investigation," Sharma said.

"We expect that we will soon unravel the whole conspiracy," he said.

He further said the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force and other agencies are involved in the investigation.

Following the blast, a forensic team, a bomb disposal squad and other agencies had reached the spot.

Meanwhile, a Government Railway Police official said repair work on the railway track was undertaken and rail traffic has been restored.

Earlier in January, a blast on a dedicated freight corridor railway track in the Fatehgarh Sahib district's Sirhind had damaged the engine of a train and left a loco pilot injured.