Blast in train
A view of the Kamakhya-Dekargaon Intercity Express at Harisinga. Image credit - Northeast Now

Five persons, two of them seriously, were injured in a blast that took place on Saturday evening in the Kamakhya-Dekargaon Intercity Express (No 15815) near Harisinga Railway Station in Udalguri district.

However, it is yet to be ascertained whether it was a bomb blast or a blast caused due to short-circuit.

While eyewitnesses claim that several people have been injured, a top Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official claimed that only three persons have been injured as a result of the blast in coach No. 4 of the train.

Though the identities of the injured are yet to be established one of the injured has been identified as Rahul Das. Out of the two seriously injured, Rahul Das has been referred to Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) while the other has been admitted to the Harisinga Civil Hospital.

The other people who sustained minor injuries include Khiruda Bora, Karishma Deka and Nabajit Das.

The NFR official claimed, “It has been suspected that the blast caused due to short-circuit.”

The incident took place when the Dekargaon-bound train left Tangla and reached Kathalguri just before Harisinga Railway Station.

The train has remained stranded till the latest update of this news at 9.22 pm which has caused inconvenience to the commuters.

Meanwhile, the incident has reportedly prompted top cops, including IGP, BTAD, Anurag Agarwal, to rush to the incident site.

As per prima facie, police suspect the explosion was caused by a improvised explosive device (IED) that was already boarded on the train.

The co-passengers of the coach, where the incident took place, informed media persons: “As soon as the train left Tangla and reached Kathalguri before Harisinga station we heard a sound and the coach was engulfed by smokes. We forced the driver to stop the train by pulling the chain and minutes later it stopped at Harisinga Railway Station.”

However, train movement was not affected as the train was at the station and two more lines were available. The train coach hasn’t received major damage.

Shajid Khan is Northeast Now Correspondent in Udalguri. He can be reached at: [email protected]