Bomb, letter warning of revenge for Dujana’s death found on train
A low-intensity bomb was recovered in a toilet of an express train on Thursday with a letter that warned of strikes to avenge the recent killing of a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The explosive was found in the B3 coach of the Akal Takht Express, which was on its way to Amritsar in Punjab from Howrah in West Bengal.
A railway official stopped the train at around 1.14am and vacated the B3 and B4 coaches at Akbarganj station in Amethi district, 60km from here, after they were alerted about a suspicious packet. “A bomb disposal team rushed to the spot and the device was defused,” superintendent of police Saumitra Yadav said.
A note was also found wrapped around the packet that said: “Dujana ki shahaadat ka badla abb Hindustan ko chukaana padega (India will have to pay for Dujana’s martyrdom)”.
The 27-year-old Dujana was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on August 1 in what was hailed as a big success for troops that have come under increased attack in the border state.
Dujana was among the longest surviving foreign militants in Kashmir, hailing from the GilgitBaltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and carried a reward of ₹15 lakh.
The UP anti-terrorism squad
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches in J&K’s capital here in connection with an alleged terror funding and hawala case involving funds of over ₹20 crore .
Officials privy to the operations of the ED said the agency is conducting searches against one Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad and at least three premises connected to him.
They said Sheikh’s house in Ahmad Nagar and a firm identified as Al Khuddam Tours and Travels in Srinagar town are being searched.
The central agency has also roped in the state police. PTI
(ATS) has begun a probe. The probe would be led by SSP Umesh Srivastava, ATS inspector general Asim Arun said, adding preliminary investigation indicated it was a low-intensity improvised explosive device.
The train was allowed to continue the journey after police inspected all coaches.
The railway police have been asked to remain vigilant while escorting trains across the state.