A passenger train hit an LPG cylinder placed on the track in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district on Sunday. No passenger was hurt in the incident.
According to the police, the incident happened when Kalindi Express, travelling from Prayagraj to Bhiwani in Haryana, was running in the Anwarganj-Kasganj rail section in Kanpur's Shivrajpur area.
The locomotive pilot saw an LPG cylinder and other suspicious items on the tracks after which he applied brakes, but even after that, the train hit the cylinder before coming to a halt.
After the incident, senior police officials of the Kanpur Police and Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) reached the spot and recovered the LPG cylinder along with a bottle of petrol and matchboxes from the spot.
The train was stationed at the incident site for about 20 minutes and was again stopped at Kanpur's Bilhaur station for investigation, the police said.
Speaking about the incident, the Additional Commissioner of Police of Kanpur Harish Chander said, "Railway authorities informed the police that a train, travelling from Prayagraj to Bhiwani, hit a gas cylinder. Senior officials and a forensics team are present at the spot. The police have recovered a damaged cylinder and other objectionable items. We are probing the incident and strict action will be taken accused after that."
Last month, 22 coaches of the Sabarmati Express, en route from Varanasi to Sabarmati, also derailed in Kanpur, triggering panic among passengers.
After the incident, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the engine of the train hit an object placed on the tracks and security agencies were alerted.
"The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02.35 am today. Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it," he said in a post on X.
