Man places detonator on railway track near Haridwar to hear its sound, arrested

The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Haridwar has arrested a man on Wednesday for allegedly setting off a detonator on the railway tracks near Motichur Railway Station. The accused, identified as Ashok Kumar, admitted to placing the signal detonator, commonly used to alert trains, on the railway track to hear its loud sound.
Kumar, a private labourer contracted for track maintenance, said he found the detonator near a railway cave and decided to place it on the track out to hear its loud sound out of curiosity.
GRP Superintendent Sarita Dobal reported that on October 27, a notification was received from the Moradabad Control Room regarding a detonator explosion at Motichur Yard. This information was immediately relayed to higher officials, and GRP Deputy Superintendent Swapnil Moyal, along with a police team, inspected the site.
No damage to life or property was reported. Surveillance footage from the Motichur Yard CCTV cameras showed a man loitering suspiciously near the track, leading police to identify him as Ashok Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur.
During initial questioning, Kumar confessed to placing the signal detonator on the track after finding it. He admitted he knew it was used to alert trains but was curious to test its explosive sound. Following his confession, a case under Section 288 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against him at the Haridwar GRP station, and he was subsequently sent to jail.
According to Haridwar GRP Station Officer Anuj Singh, signal detonators are designed to alert trains with a loud noise but do not pose any direct harm.