Miscreants with probable terror links made yet another bid to derail a train in Pratapgarh but the alert driver saved the day for the passengers on Saturday.
As per reports, Lucknow-Varanasi Inter-city train (4219) was heading to Lucknow on Saturday morning and as it neared Chamraudha bridge near Chilbila-Jagesarganj railway station in Pratapgarh, the locomotive driver noticed stones and pieces of iron rods lying on.
He immediately applied emergency brakes stopping the train metres away from the spot and managed to avert a major mishap. The Station Master of Chilbila railway station was later informed after which the Railway and district administration brass were informed.
Later senior police and Railway officers reached the spot and the tracks were cleared after proper checking before allowing the train on its onward journey. A case was registered and investigations were underway. This is the fourth incident of suspected sabotage to derail trains in Uttar Pradesh. Sleuths of Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS) who were entrusted to probe the earlier incidents have so far failed to get any lead.
Last week in Lucknow, rail tracks were found fractured on the Daliganj -Mahanagar section. On Friday, similar fractures were noticed on tracks near Sohawal railway station by Keyman Irfan two kilometers away. The Delhi-Faizabad Express (14206) which was to pass through the site around 6:57 am was stopped on time thereby averting a mishap.
In Azamgarh too, the engine of Azamgarh-Varanasi City Tamsa passenger train derailed in the early hours of Friday while the train was being taken to the platform from the yard around 430 am.
In Kaushambi, a caller informed Station Master of Sirathu station about a bomb on board Tatanagar-Jammu Tawi Muri Express after which it was stopped for over an hour at Sirathu. However, no explosive was found.