A fire accompanied by a light blast inside the Amrapali Express near Shahdara on Thursday night triggered an RPF investigation after batteries, chemicals and related material were recovered from the coach, raising fresh concerns over the transport of hazardous substances on passenger trains.
The Amritsar-Katihar Amrapali Express had crossed Sahibabad station and was halted near the Shahdara outer signal because the signal was red when the incident occurred. The fire was reported in coach S-1 at about 6.30 pm, leading to panic among passengers and an evacuation response inside the coach.
The Railway Protection Force reached the site after receiving information about the fire. Its team inspected the coach and the surrounding area for roughly an hour. No suspected person was found at the location, but officers recovered some battery-related material, chemicals and other items, according to the report. The individuals who may have been carrying the material were not present when the inspection began.
Passengers told investigators that many people were asleep when the incident took place and that they had not seen anyone leaving suspicious material behind. The train was allowed to continue after the inspection was completed, although the recovery of chemicals and battery components has prompted questions about how potentially dangerous material entered a passenger coach.
RPF officials registered a first information report under provisions relating to endangering the safety of rail passengers and disrupting railway operations. The case also includes allegations concerning the unauthorised transport of hazardous material on the train. The recovered batteries, chemicals and other material are being sent for forensic examination.
Investigators are attempting to establish the nature of the material, how it was being carried and what caused the fire and light blast. The available report does not establish that the recovered items were intended for an attack or that they were connected to any specific organisation.
The incident is being examined against the backdrop of an explosion outside a police post in Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram area on November 6. Police investigating that case reportedly found blasting powder used in mining and tunnel construction, while an organisation calling itself Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan claimed responsibility on social media. Authorities are examining that claim and a possible Pakistan-linked network, but the report does not establish a connection between the Ghaziabad case and the Shahdara train incident.
The immediate investigation will depend on the forensic findings and the identification of the material recovered from coach S-1. RPF has begun searching for the unknown persons who may have left the items on the train, while the train’s movement resumed after the on-site examination.
