The police and railway authorities were on high alert on Thursday after airbrake pipes of the Shornur-Nilambur Express were found severed in the morning and a packet of explosives was detected in the Vanchinad Express later.
Special squads have been formed to investigate both the incidents and the home minister, Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, said in the capital that the police would probe whether there was any terrorist hand behind them.
It was the loco pilot of the Shornur-Nilambur Express, Alikkutty, who detected the sabotage when he started the engine at 6.15 am and found that it was not moving. On checking, he found that the rubber airbrake pipes connecting the engine to the 11 bogies had been severed in 20 spots in an expert manner. Police arrived on the spot soon after.
“The train will not move without the airbrake pipes and we have to find out whether this was done merely to attract public attention,” said the Malappuram superintendent of police, Mr K. Sethuraman.
The police is probing whether the incident is connected with the 48-hour bandh declared by Maoist groups across the country.