A suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Assam’s Kokrajhar district damaged nearly two feet of railway track in the early hours of Thursday, officials said.
According to the police, the blast occurred around 12:57 am, following which an investigation was immediately launched.
“We received the information at around 1 am and a team rushed to the spot. Nearly two feet of the iron track was damaged, and the railways department has been working on restoration,” said Pushpraj Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kokrajhar.
He added that no organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, but police are investigating all possible angles. “We have launched a probe and the railway police are also assisting us,” Singh said.
Officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said that the explosion disrupted railway services, leading to delays in several trains.
“At about 1 am, when a goods train was passing between Salakati and Kokrajhar, the train manager reported a heavy jerk, after which the train was stopped. On inspection, damage was found on the track and sleepers, suspected to have been caused by a bomb blast,” NFR officials said in a statement.
They added that the state police, Railway Protection Force (RPF), and intelligence agencies are jointly investigating the incident.
“The track was restored around 5:25 am, and by then, about eight trains that were detained due to the incident had resumed movement. Patrolling has been intensified in the affected section,” said Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of NFR.
Repair work was completed swiftly, and the track was restored to service by 5:25 a.m., after which normal train operations resumed.
Officials confirmed that eight trains were temporarily detained due to the incident, but services have now returned to normal.
Security and patrolling along the section have been intensified to prevent further disruptions, while investigations continue to identify those responsible for the blast.
