54 detonators found at Kalyan railway station

Mumbai: More than 50 detonators were found abandoned in two boxes on platform number one of Kalyan railway station on Wednesday, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said. The official added the boxes were spotted at 11.30am by the GRP officials which were unattended at the usually crowded station on the Central Railway (CR) route following which a dog squad and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) personnel were immediately called to the spot. The boxes were checked by the sniffer dogs.

A detonator is a small sensitive device used to provoke a larger, more powerful explosion and is usually used in commercial mining, excavation, demolition etc.

The BDDS team took the boxes into custody and on opening found as many as 54 detonators (a device containing a small amount of explosive) inside them, he said.

The Kalyan GRP has launched a probe though they were yet to register a case in connection with the seizure, said the official. Senior police officials, including Thane city cops, visited the spot where the detonators were found.

The GRP has launched an investigation and CCTV footage is being scanned to identify who and when the boxes were left on the platform and who had brought them.

DCP Manoj Patil said, “Such detonators are attached to explosives at mining quarries for blasting tunnels, digging wells, etc. These detonators were not attached to any explosives and cannot explode on their own. However, an investigation is ongoing as to who brought the detonators to the railway station.”

Kalyan railway station on Mumbai city’s outskirts serves commuters of both long-distance as well as suburban trains and is usually very crowded.