SUKKUR, July 21: An attempt to blow up a private wagon at the Ghotki railway station failed on Sunday when police recovered two unexploded hand grenades from inside the vehicle which was set on fire by some unknown terrorists.

Police said that the booby trap wagon No. 0094 was parked near the railway station to cause heavy casualties and widespread damage. They said that the wagon was set on fire to detonate the explosives.

However, they added, the fire was extinguished and the vehicle was thoroughly checked resulting in the recovery of the hand grenades.

The Bomb Disposal Squad was immediately called out to defuse the grenades.

Initial reports suggested that the explosives were planted inside the wagon by breaking its windowpanes.

The DPO of Ghotki, Shamsuddin Korai, said that the police had received information that a wagon had caught fire and called in the fire brigade to extinguish the blaze.

He said that he and the SP of Special Branch, Mansoor Mughal, rushed to the scene when police found the hand grenades inside the wagon.

The Bomb Disposal Squad, after inspecting the explosives, opined that the grenade did not explode because they were outdated. It indicated that the manufacturing date on the devices read 1969-70.

Meanwhile, a team of Ghotki police has started an investigation into the abortive attack after registering a case against the unknown terrorists.

Following the footprints of the culprits, the team reached at the house of one, Karim Bakhsh Lakho, who was immediately arrested. The owner of the booby trap wagon, Rehmatullah Lakho, was also interrogated.

ACCIDENT: Chakar Ali Hindwani, a head-constable, was killed and Niaz Jamali, a constable, was injured when a wagon hit their motorcycle near Jacobabad on Saturday.