NEW DELHI, Sept 29: Another possible sabotage attempt has been unearthed in Uttar Pradesh. A suspicious object was found on a railway track near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The police said the loco pilot of Pushpak Express noticed the red cylinder lying on the track and applied brakes just in time.
The police said the train came to a stop some distance away from the cylinder. The incident assumes significance as it was a fresh one amid several cases of gas cylinders and concrete pillars being found on railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh.
The train going from Mumbai to Lucknow had reached the holding line near Govindpuri station when the driver was shocked to see a fire safety cylinder lying on the tracks at 4.15 pm. The driver said the train speed was slow, and that helped him avert a tragedy. The fire extinguisher was issued by the railways.
After telling the control room, the driver brought the cylinder to Kanpur Central. The police said the cylinder was issued by the section engineer. They are investigating the matter. The local authorities have not given a statement yet.
On Saturday, a 16-year-old youth was detained for allegedly putting a fencing pillar on the Banda-Mahoba rail track, causing disruptions. The driver of the passenger train had to apply emergency brakes to stop the train after he saw a concrete pillar on the tracks, the police said. The engine of another train hit a stone placed on the railway track in Bairia on Saturday.
(Manas Dasgupta)