12 bombs recovered from train wagon in Odisha, trigger major security concerns

Security officials recovered as many as 12 bombs from a railway goods wagon at Kantabanji Railway Station in Bolangir district on Tuesday, sparking major security concerns.

Sources reported that railway police found the cache of 12 cell bombs during a routine inspection and subsequently seized it. However, the concerned authorities are yet to determine how the bombs ended up in the railway wagon.

Further, according to the station manager, the bombs were reportedly from the Ordnance Factory Badmal (OFBL) under Saintala police station limits of the district.

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Notably, the Saintala Ordnance Factory manufactures arms, ammunition, equipment, propellants, explosives, and other items for defence personnel in India. As such, the seizure of explosives has led to a security scare.

Shockingly, the station master reportedly returned the cache back to OFBL without notifying the police or concerned security personnel, as per sources.

Subsequently, questions lurk regarding the nature of the shipment, the manner of shipment and discovery, and hasty return.

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Being a crucial part of the country's defense infrastructure, shipments from the OFBL are always moved under heavy security and in secured vehicles. However, the current manner points to a major loophole and possible conspiracies.

Concerns are further aggravated as the region is also noted for Maoist activity and several insurgent-caused damages have been reported from this region.

As per the last reports, a detailed investigation is underway to ascertain the source of the bombs as well as the entire sequence of events following its retrieval from the goods wagon.