Taloja

explosive

Central Railways Mumbai

Panvel RPF

Four sticks of explosives weighing 125 grams, wrapped in gelatin, without a detonator were found on the railway tracks nearon Thursday afternoon. The development comes after three incidents of ‘sabotage attempts’ in Mumbai.The discovery was made by a lineman who immediately alerted the police and railway officials and stopped the traffic on the tracks. The gelatin was found between poles 61/8 and 61/10.City police, ATS authorities, and other investigative agencies reached the spot. When the substance was retrieved, it was confirmed that thewas without a detonator and thus useless.Although the railway authorities dismissed it as a shot at practical joke, the city cops expressed concern pertaining to the regularity of such instances along the railway tracks that is considered the lifeline of the city. According to the Senior Divisional Security Commissioner ofDivision, Sachin Bhalode, "The explosive, known as the Cap sensitive emulsion is used along with detonator in mining and quarrying purposes. Given the location of Taloja, several places nearby might use these kind of explosives. So, prima facie, it looks like a practical joke or someone wanting to scare the authorities and play a prank."He claimed that without a detonator the sticks are completely useless and have no danger. However, he added, "Due to the regular sighting of materials on tracks in the past few days, the matter gains importance. We are investigating along with the city police," he said.However, according to Taloja police, the explosives, although inactive were not useless. "They did not have any detonators attached and thus it might look like they were thrown away and not placed on the tracks," said Police Inspector Mahesh Tarde from Taloja police.He also added, "We have lodged an FIR against unknown people under various sections of IPC and explosives act." However, due to the continuous activity on the railway tracks in the past few days, the information about explosives being found on the tracks brought almost all investigative agencies to the spot.According to sources at the RPF Panvel, the four explosive sticks along with gelatin were surely not thrown away at the tracks. "The incident happened within 5km from where the metal rod was found day before. So, it can’t just be a neglected mistake. We are investigating where the sticks came from and how they landed up on the railway tracks, where they could have caused a great damage," said one of the officers fromAfter metal rods were found on railway tracks, the suburban railway staff had been investigating the tracks regularly.