Security personnel in India’s eastern city of Kolkata responded quickly to a suspicious bag left on the platform of Howrah Railway Station. The bag contained an IED that could have led to a loss of life and property.

An unclaimed bag left on the Howrah Railway Station platform in Kolkata, India on Thursday raised the suspicion of a vendor.

He sounded the alarm with railway police who acted quickly to diffuse the bomb inside the baggage.

[Dilip Mitra, Railway Protection Force]: (Hindi, probably male)
"A hawker came and told the constable of the Railway Protection Force that there was a bag and a can of petrol. The Railway Protection Force constable informed the other security personnel and subsequently the news reached me.”

Mitra instructed personnel to cordon off and sandbag the area.

The bomb disposal squad then took the IED and diffused it at a secluded place near a river.