Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced on Monday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been called in to investigate an explosion that occurred on the broad gauge line track on the Udaipur-Ahmedabad rail route between Saturday and Sunday night.
Ashok Gehlot said that “A high-level probe is being done. We have called the NIA for the investigation. They will investigate the cause of the incident. We are taking it seriously”.
Train movement on the Udaipur-Ahmedabad rail route was halted after the explosion took place on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. However, the goods train ran on the Udaipur-Ahmedabad rail route at 9:20 am, the first since the explosion.
The explosion, which was reported near the Oda railway bridge on the Slumber-Megha highway, caused damage to the tracks. Local villagers said they heard the explosion at night, and informed the Railways, police, and local authorities.
Shashi Kiran, North-Western Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) said that Railways completed the repair work of the track at 3.30 am last night. Adding further, “After the track was damaged in Ajmer division, the ATS team gave site clearance to North Western Railway at 11.30 pm last night. Taking swift action, engineers of NW Railway declared the track fit at 3.30 am”.
As a precautionary measure, a trial run of a railway engine was done earlier.
A train passed through the track about four hours before the explosion, they said. Officials said that they suspect it to be a conspiracy to blow up the track, and claimed to have initiated a probe into the same.
Following the incident, officials from Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), local police, and forensic officials rushed to the spot and launched an investigation.
Following the incident, Mr. Gehlot tweeted, “The incident of damage to rail tracks on the Oda railway bridge of the Udaipur-Ahmedabad route is worrying. Senior police and administration officials are on the spot, and the DG Police has been directed to the routes of this incident.”
“Railways will be provided all possible assistance for the restoration of traffic on the bridge, and alternative arrangements are being made to ensure that the rail passengers of this route reach their destination,” he said.
DGP Umesh Mishra said that central investigation agencies have been roped in to carry out the investigation and arrest those involved. “We are probing the matter in coordination with the railway authorities, and central investigation agencies have also been roped in to investigate the matter,” Mishra said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the broad gauge rail line between Udaipur and Ahmedabad on October 31.
Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia on Sunday said that Ashok Gehlot should be held accountable for the explosion.
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