Train halted in Himachal after bomb scare

A train was halted in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district following a bomb scare on Friday and an extensive search conducted before it was found to be a false alarm, police said.

The Jalandhar-Udhampur train was halted and passengers offloaded at the Kandrori railway station when a passenger raised alarm on spotting an unclaimed luggage, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Gandhi told reporters. Kandrori is 14 km from Punjab's Pathankot town where the Indian Air Force base was stormed by Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists in January.

He said a combined search operation was launched by the Himachal Pradesh and Punjab Police along with the Government Railway Police.

The abandoned luggage comprising a trolley bag, a small bag and two gift packs was later claimed by passenger Surinder Kaur, who said she left at the Mirthal railway station in Gurdaspur district by mistake.

After three hours of commotion, the train was allowed to proceed further.