Indian Railways claims anti-social acts behind train fires

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Indian Railways on Wednesday claimed acts of sabotage caused recent incidents of fires in trains.

According to it, the investigations into these incidents have revealed the possible involvement of anti-social elements in several cases.

"Recently, incidents of fire in various trains have come to light. Indian Railways investigated these incidents and found that in several cases, anti-social elements were involved," reads a statement issued by the Indian Railways to the local media.

India's state-run broadcaster All India Radio reported that in an incident near Amarapura railway station, an attempt was made by an unidentified individual to set fire to linen materials inside a coach, which led to a fire outbreak. In a separate case in Howrah, a piece of cloth soaked in petrol was recovered from the bathroom of a train that caught fire.

On Sunday, a massive fire broke out in one of the air-conditioned coaches of a train in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A day later, a fire broke out in one of the coaches of a passenger train in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. On Monday night, three coaches of an empty passenger train derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. No one was hurt in these incidents. Enditem