From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI:Passengers of Down Kamakhya-Puri Express had a close shave after a powerful bomb was recovered by security forces from the train in lower Assam’s Goalpara district on Friday morning even as Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has suspended night running of passenger trains to and from the region with effect from August 13 to August 16 in view of threat of militants in the run up to Independence Day.
Goalpara district Superintendent of Police Luis Aind informed that an improvised explosive device (IED ) weighing about five kilogram was recovered from a sleeper coach of the Puri-bound train at Pancharatna railway station at around 5.30 am during a checking conducted by a joint team of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Assam Police, CRPF and the Army.
An electronic detonator, batteries and electrical wire were also recovered along with the IED. Though it was not immediately known which militant outfit was responsible for this, one person with a surname Goyari was arrested.
Another powerful IED weighing about 3 kgs was seized from a house at Hatimura, under Dudhnoi police station of Goalpara district during a search operation by the security forces on Friday. The house owner, Dholaram Rabha, who was suspected to be a militant of either local extremist groups Rabha Viper Army or the Garo National Liberation Army, was arrested.
The police, Railway Protection Force and Army have launched intensive joint search operations in the district on the tip-off that insurgents might resort to subversive activities in the run up to the Independence Day.
Earlier two IEDs were recovered by the security forces from Alamganj in Dhubri district and another was recovered by Dibrugarh police from a bus travelling from Dibrugarh to Golaghat in Upper Assam on Thursday.
The Centre had alerted the N-E states about the chances of a terror attack in the run up to the Independence Day.
The anti-talk faction of the ULFA and 11 other N-E insurgent outfits have jointly called for a boycott of the Independence Day celebrations and a general strike on August 15.
Meanwhile, the NF Railway has resorted to massive cancellation, short-termination of a large number of trains in view of its decision to suspend night running of training during August 13 to 16 because of security concerns in the run-up to Independence Day.