Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 12

Panic gripped the city railway station on Thursday after an unclaimed bag was spotted by some passersby and security personnel close to the main entry point of the station.

On receiving the information, the police rushed to the spot and called a bomb disposal squad. The policemen present at the station asked people to leave the place to allow them to examine the bag. While the whole station was evacuated within minutes, the movement of trains was not discontinued.

Later, the bomb disposal squad opened the bag and found nothing suspicious in it, bringing a big relief for local residents, passengers and security agencies.

As many as 100 personnel of the city police, the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) reached the spot. An ambulance and a fire tender were rushed to the place. The bomb disposal and dog squads were also brought to the spot after an alarm was raised by security personnel. Passengers, railway staff, porters, and others were quickly directed to vacate the station, leaving only security forces inside the station.

SHO, GRP, Dharminder Kalyan said the unclaimed bag was found near the scanning machine at the entrance. The bag was first spotted by security guards who were checking the luggage of passengers and visitors.

SHO, Police Division Number 3, said the checking at the station was a mock drill ahead of Independence Day. “The drill was conducted after the recovery of the bag to review security arrangements and availability of fire tenders, bomb squad and ambulances in case of any untoward incident,” added the SHO.

Notably after a tiffin box filled with bomb was recovered from Amritsar, there is an atmosphere of concern in the entire state. Following the recovery of the explosives, a high alert was sounded in the city.

While presiding over a review meeting with officers at the Police Lines, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the police were making every effort to maintain the law and order situation in the city. Besides, Bhullar also issued a WhatsApp number (9646018201) in this regard so that people could inform the police if any suspicious activity was found around them.