The Railway Protection Force in Kerala’s Kozhikode on Friday, 26 February seized a huge stock of explosives from a train passenger. According to officials, 117 gelatin sticks and 350 detonators were seized from a woman identified as Ramani, who is a native of Tiruvannamalai and was a passenger in the Chennai Central-Mangalore Central Superfast Express. She has been detained and is in custody.
According to railway officials, the explosives were seized during an inspection of the Railway Protection Force’s crime squad.
“It was between Tirur and Kozhikode station that officers discovered explosives belonging to the woman. The woman has given a statement that she works in the construction of wells the explosives are meant for that. But it is illegal to transport explosives on the train. More details are being probed,” an official told TNM.
As per officials, the woman had boarded a train from Katpadi railway station near Vellore in Tamil Nadu. According to reports, Ramani had stored the explosive stacks under the seat she was sitting on.
According to officials, the woman was heading to Kannur. Notably, the district is infamous for political tussles and multiple explosions has rocked the region in the past.
Last September, a blast occurred in Kannur’s Ponnaim Choola reportedly while making steel bombs. Bombs have also been discovered from stranded places in the district in the past.
(The story has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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