Bomb goes off hours before Lalu train passes

Police said that they could have been placed on the tracks by petty anti-social elements. 8220;There is no reason to panic. The bombs were placed on the down line near a godown,8221; said IG Railways, Amrik Singh Nimran.

The Railway Minister, while expressing concern, said there was nothing to worry. 8220;I spoke to the railway safety authorities as well as the state government and asked them to step up security on the tracks and at railway stations,8221; he said.

Asked whether the state government was to be blamed for the explosion, Lalu said that the situation of the railway police in the state could be gauged from the fact that a DIG-level officer had gone underground. He took the dig at the DIG Railways Ajay Verma who had gone underground to evade arrest in a property dispute case.

Two cops killed in Naxal strike: A day after Maoists attacked the Atmakur police station, killing two policemen and a home guard personnel, the Andhra Pradesh government said the state would deal firmly with Naxalites. Chief Minister YSR Reddy today visited Nalgonda, about 110 km from here, to meet the family members of the deceased.