Security forces at the spot where they found the bomb on the railway tracks in Assam's Goalpara.
A major disaster was averted when the Indian Army detected and defused a 10 kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted on the rail tracks in Dudnia in Assam's Goalpara district this afternoon.
The IED is suspected to have been planted by faction of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent). Sources told NDTV that explosive used in the IED is a mixture of RDX and TNT - both military grade explosives. The IED was planted underneath the tracks and covered with stone chips to prevent detection.
Local villagers tipped on the Goalpara based troops about suspicious activity on the tracks today, following which Army engineers and bomb detection teams moved in immediately. It took the Army about three hours to extricate the bomb, move it to safe location and defuse it.
Senior Army officials told NDTV that a gas cylinder had been cut open and explosives were planted inside. The IED had an electronic detonator and was trigged by "wire controlled command mechanism."
"A 200 meter wire was found connected to the IED. The most likely targets would have been trains like the Rajdhani and other passenger trains," senior officers told NDTV and added that "the IED could have been triggered by excessive moisture in the air and it was major challenge for our engineers."
The Indian Army suspects that ULFA(I) is trying to reassert itself because of the forth coming Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Division and the Assam Assembly elections.
"Had the terrorist been successful, there would have been huge casualty leading to an of air uncertainty," the officer told NDTV.