Blast
[Representational image]Creative Commons

Two blasts were reported from Agra Cantonment railway station in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning, leading to chaos in a city that has already been on terror alert since Friday. The police have rushed to the spot and are investigating, besides having cordoned off the area. There have also been reports of a derailment bid that was foiled near Agra. 

Also read: Taj Mahal under threat from ISIS? Link being circulated of impending attack; security enhanced in area

The first blast occurred in a garbage dump. As panic spread and people started running helter-skelter, the second blast occurred, this time on the terrace of a house. However, no injury has been reported so far in any of the blasts, and both blasts are said to be of low intensity. 

It may be noted here that the Islamic State group — also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) — had issued a terror threat in the region, with plans to attack the Taj Mahal.

In the wake of the blast, the bomb squad and and the dog squad have also reached the spot, in anticipation of finding and neutralising any other explosives and explosive devices in the region. Meanwhile, security around the Taj mahal has been beefed up further, with the world-renowned monument reportedly being on the hitlist of ISIS.

Derailment bid foiled

Meanwhile, reports from the region have said a derailment bid near Agra had been foiled late on Friday night after locals discovered rocks kept on tracks. The rocks had reportedly been placed there to cause a train accident. 

It may be recalled here that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is already probing two cases where Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is accused of causing derailments that have claimed scores of lives. The NIA also happens to have a few people in custody who are accused of helping the ISI carry out these derailments.