Country-made bombs found near rly tracks in Khanapur

Two country-made bombs were found near the railway track at Kirwala village in Khanapur taluk between Gunji and Londa railway stations on Thursday.

A vigilant railway keyman immediately alerted his superiors, and a tragedy was averted with the police defusing one of the bombs and taking the other for ballistic examination.

Railway keyman Hanmantgouda Patil, who had been checking the railway track on Thursday, noticed two explosives wrapped in a newspaper and lying near the railway track. He brought it to the notice of his superiors at Londa railway station.

Train services between Londa and Gunji were halted. Soon, the Khanapur police arrived at the spot with a bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs to check for more explosives in the vicinity.

During checkup of the explosives found, two live bombs without detonators were found. Police suspect that the bombs could have been kept to scare railway passengers.

About 10 gram of explosives were found to have been wrapped in thick threads. Local residents use such explosives for blasting and to scare away wild animals coming near human habitats.

Additional Superintendent of Police B N Nyamgouda and senior police officers visited the spot.
Nyamgouda said that miscreants could have kept the low-intensity bombs near the railway track to scare passengers, but the police had taken the issue seriously and would investigate the case.

Trains on Belagavi-Londa route were delayed by more than four hours due to the bomb scare. Trains were halted at Belagavi, Ghataprabha, Londa, Alnavar, Gunji and Desur railway stations.

Services resumed after a engine completed a test run on the route. The railway police have registered a case.