Rail disaster involving more than 700 passengers averted on Madgaon-Dadar Jan Shatabdi

It was a narrow escape for more than 700 passengers on the Madgaon-Dadar Jan Shatabdi Express when the train halted just 30 metres short of a heavy obstacle placed on the railway track. It was a 380-Kg piece of rail and it was over seven metres long. It had been kept on the train's path near Diva station.
The train was moving at 15-Kmph but if it had hit the rail, it might have derailed. It the train had been at speed., the result would have been a major disaster.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 January 2017.

It had the appearance of a meticulously planned and executed job and it is believed that some people had placed the heavy rail within 17 minutes of two trains passing through the spot. Normally, when a piece of metal touches both rails of a track, a circuit gets activated and the signal turns red. In order to prevent this, a lot of soil had been applied on the rail which would indicate some knowledgeable persons.
GRP suspects that at least four men were involved in the incident otherwise it would have been difficult to lift a 380kg object. The railway police are probing the terror angle as a couple of recent derailments in north India pointed to the role of terrorists.


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Talking on the subject at a massive election rally in Salem, North Carolina, Donald Trump elaborated that Hillary Clinton cannot be trusted with America's security because she was under multiple criminal investigations for criminal conduct that put the safety of the entire nation at risk.
At the rally, Trump outlined his plan to rebuild military and support veterans. He began the rally by naming recipients of medals of honors who were present at the meeting.
He also drew attention to the fact that ISIS is on a campaign of genocide in the Middle East, torturing, drowning and burning people alive. They have slaughtered men, women and children in France, Germany, Belgium, and there are now 1,000 open ISIS investigations in the United States. There has been bloodshed in the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, and the recent bomb plot in New York and New Jersey.
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Terrorist alarm in Uran was the figment of a 12-year-old schoolgirl's imagination

Just four days after the Uri attack, there was panic in Mumbai because of reports that several terrorists have been seen in the area near Uran Naval Base. Immediately, a massive, multi-agency search was mounted by the Navy, Coast Guard, NSG and Maharashtra ATS. They had to locate "a group of suspicious men dressed in black and heard mentioning 'school' and 'ONGC'" near the Uran Naval base in Navi Mumbai.
However, it did not yield any result because it was figment of a 12-year-old girl's fertile imagination.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 29 September 2016.

The local schoolgirl of Uran had mentioned of seeing 4-5 men dressed in Pathan suit and conversing in a different language. They were carrying what looked like weapons. Uran was immediately put on high alert and a massive search operation covering land, air and sea was launched. But, the suspects could not be traced.
Subsequently, during a second round of questioning two days later, the girl conceded that she had concocted the story. She had seen pictures of Islamic State terrorists wearing black clothes and flashing automatic weapons and that prompted her to spread the word that she had spotted them in Uran - she just wanted some thrill.
Such false alarms remain a matter of grave concern because they cannot be ignored. If proved correct, they are a valuable tool in preventing terror attacks. But frequent false alarms contribute to force fatigue because false alerts cost resources and money.


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This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 September 2016.

CCTV cameras have been installed at airports because these are targets of terrorists and the CCTV camera footage have been critical in identifying and going after the perpetrators. However, the seven unserviceable CCTV cameras positioned at the parking lot, the parking bay outside the arrival and departure gates and also some inside, near the check-in counters is a matter of major security lapse.
A businessman and frequent flier has said that fliers are experience heightened airport security. While taking a flight he was told to remove his shoes for scanning and there were sniffer dogs checking out the baggage. Obviously, CCTV cameras that do not function is a cause for alarm, especially since the airport is a Defence establishment.


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