ASSEMBLY POLL '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS '98
ARCHIVES

Deadly bomb recovered from Ayodhya rail station

A deadly time bomb, recovered from a teeming railway platform in Ayodhya, went off on Sunday as it was being defused at a police station, injuring a senior officer and five constables.

The bomb, detected at 0500 hours on Sunday by a vendor, was timed to explode at 0730 hours - the scheduled arrival time of the Sealdah and Marudhar express trains at the station. It was lying inside an abandoned bag.

The Uttar Pradesh government has sounded a state-wide alert following the incident.

Faizabad Senior Superintendent of Police Anil Agarwal and five other policemen were injured when the bomb exploded.

All the injured were admitted to a hospital where the condition of three policemen was stated to be serious.

An official spokesman said security in Ayodhya, Varanasi and other sensitive places has been further tightened.

In Ayodhya, the railway station was evacuated after the bomb was recovered. All traffic on the route was stopped.

Deputy Superintendent of Police K B Mishra said the bomb, weighing about eight kg, was powerful enough to cause serious damage around a 200 square metre area.

A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident, the Faizabad divisional commissioner said.

Chief Minister Kalyan Singh had visited Ayodhya on Saturday.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report