An explosion on a stretch of the railway tracks in Lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district disrupted train services for around five hours on Thursday.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said police have identified one suspect for his alleged involvement.
When a goods train was passing between Salakati and Kokrajhar, the train manager reported a heavy jerk at around 1am, according to a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official.
Following a check, “it was found that there was damage on the tracks and sleepers due to a suspected bomb blast”.
The NFR official also said that normal plying of trains resumed after the track was restored at 5.25am.
“Around eight trains underwent detention due to the incident. Assam Police, the RPF and intelligence authorities are investigating the matter. Patrolling has been intensified in the section,” the official said.
Train operations in lower Assam and north Bengal were affected because of
the disruption.
Kokrajhar, which falls in the Bodoland Territorial Region, was once a hotbed of insurgency, but the area has been peaceful for past several years.
A police official said that a 90-cm stretch of the tracks was damaged, which was promptly repaired. “We are examining whether it was an IED blast or a blast caused by crude bombs. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosion till now,” he said.
On the sidelines of an official event in Bongaigaon, which is also in Lower Assam, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a mishap has been averted.
He was informed about the incident by the director-general of police at around 3am.
“One person involved in the incident has been identified. There are several cases lodged against him in both Assam and Jharkhand,” Sarma said.
A Kokrajhar resident said the public had heard a very loud sound in the night. Kokrajhar town is about 5km from the blast site.
Senior police officials rushed to the blast site, including Assam Police chief H. Singh, who held a security review meeting with stress on having close coordination between state police, central forces and the railways authorities.
Singh said the forensic samples have been collected and they have managed to gather some “technical and human leads” and they were confident that those involved will be caught. Security has been intensified.