Threat letter to Railways was posted from BHEL, finds police

HYDERABAD: An anonymous threat letter addressed to the divisional railway manager of South Central Railways, warning of a ‘Balasore-like tragedy’, was found to be posted from BHEL on June 27 or 28. It reached the official on June 30, the police said.

The letter, all in bold, stated: “BALASORE LIKE TRAIN TRAGEDY MAYBE THERE IN THE NEXT WEEK ON ROUTE-HYDERABAD-DELHI-DELHI-HYDERABAD (sic).”

Upon receiving the threat, a senior officer of the railway police directed the forces to sensitise staff deployed on platforms and fields to be on the lookout for suspicious persons or objects at stations.

Teams formed to probe the incident are currently reviewing footage from around 350 CCTV cameras at railway stations, spanning the entirety of June and July, to check for the possibility of sabotage or recce.

“We are taking the threat message very seriously. If there are chances of sabotage, some or other suspicious person or persons will definitely keep a watch on the railway police’s reaction after receiving the letter. Unless we get the culprit, we cannot come to any conclusion,” a police officer said.

The Gopalpuram police have registered a case under Section 507 of the IPC, while special cells of the SCR intelligence bureau, IT cell, special branch, government railway police and railway protection force are keeping a watch on all railway stations in the Secunderabad division.

The north zone SB, IT cell and the detective department are working separately to identify the suspect.

Two persons were earlier detained in connection with the case but were released after questioning, police sources said.