A major railway tragedy was today averted when a bomb was found near an old storehouse at Farukkhabad station and later defused, police said here.
A Government Railway Police patrol team informed us that a "bomb-like" object was lying on platform number one following which army officials and a bomb disposal squad in Kanpur were contacted, they said.
The platform was evacuated and movement of trains to and from it stopped.
The bomb disposal squad led by M K Pandey confirmed it was a bomb timed to explode at 6.20 am, minutes before Mainpuri passenger train was to depart at 6.40 am.
It did not explode as the timer developed a problem, Pandey said, adding that further details would be available only after a probe into the matter was over.
The incident comes a day after a major train mishap was averted near Mohanlalganj, on the outskirts of the state capital of Lucknow, due to alertness of Prayag-Lucknow passenger train driver when he noticed 50 cm rail track missing.
Railways has ordered a departmental inquiry into the possibility of sabotage.
