UP SHOCKER! Man aboard Hirakund Express brands fellow passengers as ‘terrorists’, triggers ‘terror alert’ after row over…

A dispute over seating arrangements triggered a ‘terror alert’ aboard the Amritsar-Visakhapatnam Hirakund Express after a passenger falsely claimed that three Muslim passengers on the train were ‘terrorists’.

How seating dispute triggered a ‘terror alert’?

According to the police, the incident originated at the Datia railway station in Madhya Pradesh, where local police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) deboarded four passengers following a heated argument.

Ramesh Paswan, a resident of Abbot Market, was involved in a heated argument over seating with fellow passengers– H Bilal Jilani, Ishan Khan, and Faizan from Talpura, all residents of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, the police said. During the altercation, Paswan falsely accused the Muslim passengers of being ‘terrorists’, which triggered a terror alert, following which intensive security checks were conducted at the the Jhansi railway station on Sunday.

What did the police say?

A senior officer said security checks confirmed that there was no real threat and the ‘terror alert’ stemmed from a dispute among passengers over seating arrangements aboard the Hirakud Express.

“RPF control room received information that suspected terrorists were travelling on train number 20808. Investigations have revealed that the quarrel began over seating arrangements, during which one passenger falsely claimed that the three Muslim passengers involved were terrorists, prompting the alert,” Superintendent of Police (SP), Railway Vipul Kumar Srivastava said.

Checks reveal fake threat

Officials said the train underwent a thorough inspection, including a check of its front general coach, but no suspicious individuals or items were discovered, and was cleared for departure after approximately 30 minutes of inspection, at around 3.30 pm.

Additionally, the general coach was inspected with a sniffer dog at Datia before the train continued its journey. As a precaution, Jhansi station conducted a second round of checks before allowing the train to proceed toward Visakhapatnam, they said.

All four passengers involved in the incident are being questioned, police said.

(With PTI inputs)