Jamshedpur: A 40-year-old passenger cried bomb-on-board and jumped off the Howrah-bound Azad Hind Express near Goelkera station in West Singhbhum, around 100km from Tatanagar, in the small hours of Thursday. He survived, but only to jump to his death from a second train that he was made to board while his alarm turned to be a hoax.

The body of Ananth Bora, a resident of Assam who was travelling alone and may have been mentally unstable, was found on tracks in the morning.

Earlier, the Azad Hind Express was subjected to two hours of search at Tatanagar.

The train from Pune left for Howrah at 3.45am, instead of the scheduled 1.35am, after RPF and GRP personnel, along with cops from Parsudih and Bagbera thanas, scanned all the coaches. A dog squad was also pressed into service, but no bomb was found.

RPF inspector at Tatanagar M.K. Singh said railway police found a Pune-Howrah reserved ticket on Bora after his death, besides his mobile phone. There was no wallet on his person.

"The passenger, aged around 40, first jumped off the Azad Hind Express as the train slowed down near Goelkera station around 12.30am. Spotted by railway police, he claimed there was a bomb in the train. Chakradharpur railway division was alerted," Singh said, adding that the passenger was made to board the Mumbai Mail, also bound for Howrah, around 1.30am.

It is not clear exactly when Bora jumped a second time. After daybreak, railway police found his body on tracks, around 20km from Chakradharpur station.

"Preliminary investigations suggest the passenger was mentally deranged. We are trying to contact his family members," RPF inspector Singh said.

The body has been sent to Chaibasa Sadar Hospital for post-mortem.

Spokesperson for Chakradharpur railway division Bhaskar confirmed the incident and said the matter was under probe. "The train (Azad Hind Express) was searched, according to protocol (after a bomb alert), to ensure safety of passengers. It left for its destination after no explosive device was found," he said.