The Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express was delayed after it was halted for over three hours at Tundla Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh early Thursday. The train was halted after a security alert about suspected terrorists allegedly travelling with explosives. The alert was received through an X (formerly Twitter) user, as per officials.
The information, however, turned out hoax as nothing "suspicious" was found after intense checking carried out from around 2.30 am to 6 am, officials told News agency PTI.
"Around 2.30 am, every passenger in all coaches were woken up and their luggage were checked thoroughly with metal detectors and dog squads but nothing was found," a railway official from Prayagraj Rail Division said.
"We received an information from an X handle that some suspected terrorists were travelling in the train with explosives, which they would plant in Air India Delhi-Leh flight. We initiated action but it turned out to be a hoax," he added.
The hoax caused significant disruption, but the authorities ensured that all safety protocols were followed. The passengers were cleared after no suspicious activity was detected.
From late April this year, a wave of hoax bomb threats emails and calls were received by many establishments including schools, colleges, hotels and airports across India. Most of these bomb threats were targeted at organisations in Delhi.