The Railway Protection Force (RPF) took a railways employee into custody on Sunday evening in connection with the explosion of 10 detonators near railway tracks while a special army train ferrying soldiers was passing between the Nepanagar and Khandwa railway stations in Madhya Pradesh on 18 September.
The RPF officials said the employee taken into custody has been identified as Saabir, son of Shabbir. The RPF inspector Sanjeev Kumar said, the accused has been booked under Section 3 (a) of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act for allegedly stealing the detonators.
He said that during initial investigations it was learnt that the detonators were not officially issued to Saabir but even if they were, he was being questioned to ascertain why he used them in a wrong manner.The 10 explosive detonators blasted close to the railway tracks while a Special Army train carrying reportedly over 500 soldiers was passing near the Sagphata railway station in the state.The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon but was kept under wraps and came to light only on Sunday.
The Army Special train was passing between the Nepanagar and Khandwa railway stations under the Central railways division when the incident occurred. A news agency had quoted Central Railway chief public relation officer Swapnil Nila as saying that a probe has been ordered into the incident. He said the RPF is conducting the investigation.
The official said that the explosives, called crackers, are used by the railways to warn loco pilots of some obstruction or low visibility conditions ahead due to fog.