BOMBAY, 16 July 2006 — All train services on the Western Railway route came to a grinding halt for 50 minutes yesterday evening, following a bomb scare at the Vile Parle railway station.
The Government Railway Police control room received a call at 3.46 p.m. from a unidentified caller who hung up immediately after saying that a bomb had been placed on the Vile Parle railway station, and the railway tracks would be blown off.
Taking no risks, the police immediately swung into action, cordoning off the railway station and clearing all commuters from the platform. Commuters on the Borivali local train which was on the platform were asked to get off and leave the station. This caused panic among the commuters who discarded their travel by train and started walking to their destinations on foot along the railways tracks as well as on roads.
The Western Railway halted all outgoing and incoming suburban and long distance trains at Bandra and Andheri railway stations, including the prestigious Rajdhani Express from New Delhi.
The Western Railway restarted its services at 5.25 p.m. after getting an all-clear from the bomb disposal squad. A Western Railways spokesman told Arab News that all trains services were running normal, though with some delay.
In another development, buckling under tremendous pressure to produce results, the police carried out a second massive operation during the early hours of dawn yesterday at Apna Nagar, near Mahim railway station and detained 450 people for questioning. They also claim to have found some leads to the blasts.
