Terming it as 'abnormally high', a top Railways official told India Today that most of these instances have occurred in non-traditional left wing extremism (LWE) affected areas, and do not carry the signature of Maoist subversive activities.

"There were 45 incidents in 2016 including 7 blasts, 3 instances of track tampering, 27 cases of sabotage and attempt to sabotage and 8 agitation related incidents. In 2017, in the first 40 days there have already been 16 cases and this is abnormally high," Mohammed Jamshed, Member Traffic, Railway Board told India Today.

The stunning revelation by Bihar police about a suspected Pakistan's notorious counter intelligence agency ISI plot to spread terror on the rail tracks has led to Railways transfer sensitive cases to the NIA. "Explosives kept at the track in East Champaran, the derailment of the Patna-Indore express on November 21 near Kanpur and the Koneru derailment have all been referred to the NIA," sources said. Subsequently with iron rails being found placed across the railway track, to cause derailment of another train in Mumbai, the CBI has been roped in to probe the matter.

On Saturday, Gelatin sticks were found next to the railway track near Mumbai prompting the Railways and Maharashtra police to launch investigations. The Indian Railways is spread over 1,10,000 track kilometers across the country.

"There are three traditional trouble spots. The North Frontier pocket - Upper Assam has Bodo and ULFA agitation. The Asansol to Gaya track and the Dantewada-Jagdalpur track where Maoists carry out their subversive activities are 3 pockets of trouble. However, more often than note, Maoists issue a warning in advance before they remove fish plate or destroy rail tracks. Their aim appears to be to cause more damage to infrastructure than people," sources added. What is alarming this time is the loss of life and no one claiming responsibility for the incidents. Like the one in Mumbai, there have been instances of big boulders being brought from elsewhere and deliberately put on tracks. Also read: Terror angle in Kanpur train tragedy: NIA, IB on hunt for recruiter in derailment cases

KANPUR TRAIN TRAGEDY

The NIA has sought cooperation from the Nepal police in connection with the interrogation of Shamul Hoda, a suspected ISI operative arrested in Dubai and deported to Nepal late last week. Hoda is suspected to be the mastermind of an ISI plot to derail trains and cause massive loss of life in India.

The Bihar police initially busted three people - Motilal Paswan, Umashankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav for reportedly planting explosives on the rail track in east Champaran. Fortunately the explosives were detected and a tragedy averted. On sustained interrogation the three confessed to having allegedly been paid by Brij Kishore Giri, their handler in Nepal who in turn had been paid by Shafi Sheikh and Shamsul Hoda.

According to officials in the Bihar police, the three had been paid Rs 3 lakh each for planting the explosives. Simultaneous investigations by the Nepal police revealed that Arun and Deepak Ram were killed on Hoda's instructions for refusing to blast rail tracks and kill people. "Apparently Hoda did not want to leave any trail. Since both Arun and Deepak Ram knew of the plot and refused to carry it out, they were eliminated," sources said. Investigators painstakingly tracked down Hoda in Dubai and intelligence officials kept an eye on his movement and phone conversations. In one conversation Hoda spelt out the plan to derail trains and kill people, the intelligence officials passed on the audio link to their counterparts in the middle-east.

"Hoda was deported to Nepal where the police arrested him for the murder of Arun and Deepak Ram. He is currently being questioned and may be brought face to face with the other suspects in the case to unravel the entire plot," sources added. A team of NIA sleuths is also travelling to Nepal to question Hoda in connection with the Kanpur and Koneru derailments. But with 1,10,000 kilometers of railway track across the country vulnerable to subversive and anti-national elements, the Railways is now desperately working to devise ways to secure the rail line. In a race against time this is a task, easier said than done.

Also read

Uttar Pradesh: Another train derailment attempt foiled, miscreants try to cut rail track