Explosive triggers panic at railway station

CHENNAI: Tension gripped the Saidapet Railway Station on Tuesday morning, after an explosive packed in a polythene cover was unearthed between two railway tracks over a vehicular subway. Fortunately, the explosive was soggy due to rains, else it could have exploded and damaged the track. According to Alagarsamy, Inspector, Bomb Squad, RPF, Central Railway Station, the material was found by Keyman Murugan, who was patrolling the track at around 9 am. “We rushed to the spot and took the explosive to a secluded area, away from the track. The explosive is a pyrotechnic cracker and comprises granules, largely used in crackers during temples festivals in the villages,” he added.Asked whether such kind of crackers could be purchased by individuals, he claimed that the Pyrotechnic Crackers manufactured in rural parts of the State including Sivakasi and Vellore could be procured only by licensed companies.The detection of the explosive created panic among passers by, who gathered at the foot-overbridge, anxiously watching the bomb squad inspecting the explosive. Meanwhile, cops from the State police also arrived on the spot. A railway security official dismissed sabotage. “If someone had attempted to create panic they would have placed the explosive between two rails and not two tracks. Secondly, the explosive is not a bomb, but crackers,” he reasoned out. The cracker was defused at 12.00 noon.