A major untoward incident was averted after a huge cache of explosives was seized from the Alleppey-Dhanbad Express at the Jharsuguda railway station on Friday morning.
A probe was launched to ascertain who had kept the explosives inside a bogie of the train.
According to reports, Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel recovered seven bombs from the 3-tier AC compartment of the train. The bombs were traced after the passengers of the compartment raised alarm at the Jharsuguda station at around 3.45 am. When GRP Havildar Firoz Khan rushed the spot, he found a shoe was burning under seat number 71 of the compartment.
After he doused the flame, he spotted a bag containing the suspected items near the seat. Applying his presence of mind, he threw the suspected items and found that those were explosives connected with a battery.
He immediately informed the authorities about the incident. A bomb squad reached the spot. The bombs would be defused after examination, a GRP official said.