Bomb hoax delays Chhattisgarh Sampark Kranti Express by an hour

Jhansi: The Chhattisgarh Sampark Kranti Express, going from Delhi to Durg, was delayed by almost an hour after it was halted at Jhansi railway station here following a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, officials said on Saturday.

After the train left Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi around 6 pm on Friday, an unidentified person called the railway helpline 139 and claimed that a bomb had been planted in a sleeper coach of the train, the officials said.

They said the railway control room in Lucknow then took precautionary measures and started preparing to search the train at the next stop -- Veerangana Laxmibai Jhansi station.

At Jhansi railway station, City Magistrate Pramod Jha, Superintendent of Police (Railways) Vipul Kumar Srivastava, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Commandant Vivekanand Narayan and security officials reached the spot with adequate police force and evacuated platforms 2 and 3.

Teams of RPF dog squad and bomb disposal squad were also called in. Other trains coming to these platforms were diverted to other platforms.

After the train reached the station at 11.31 pm, nine minutes later than the scheduled time, all its coaches were checked, but nothing suspicious was found onboard, RPF Commandant Vivekanand Narayan said.

The train then left the station for its onward journey at 12.24 am, a delay of about 54 minutes, according to the officials.