Tight vigil at railway stations

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have stepped up vigil at all railway stations in the state in the wake of an advisory from the Central Intelligence Bureau that certain radical groups might attempt to sabotage the rail network in South India. Officials said the agencies had been on a heightened alert for the past one week. They said the advisory did not mention any particular railway facility as a potential terrorist target. “There is no need for any panic. The communiqué is of an almost routine nature,” an official said. The police said they were patrolling railway tracks at night and calling regularly on guards manning railway level crossings.


The police were randomly verifying passenger baggage and unaccompanied luggage transported in the goods compartments of commuter and long-distance trains. The bomb detection and disposal teams were regularly checking trains with the help of handheld detectors and trained sniffer dogs. The police have urged the public to alert them about any baggage or devices found abandoned in coaches, and on railway yards and platforms.