Bengaluru: Passengers at the Kranti Veera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station in Bengaluru got the shock of their lives when news that a metal object (allegedly a grenade-like object) was found spread like wildfire.

The object was placed next to the track where the Sanghamitra Express (train to Patna) travels.

The information was passed on to police by a railway employee. Once police got to know, they rushed to the spot, along with dog squads and bomb disposal squads.

Speaking to a TV channel, Shridhar, working as a commercial manager in the railway department, said, “We did find a grenade-like object. We have handed it over to the bomb disposal squad. The police are examining the entire area.”

However, speaking to MyNation, police commissioner T Suneel Kumar said, “It is a dummy object. There is no need to worry.”

Adding to his statement was ADGP Alok Mohan who said, “All platforms are being checked. We got information at about 8:30 am. We have formed teams to probe the incident. It is only a metal object. It has been sent for examination. The CCTVs have not been functioning.”

Though nothing untoward has happened, it makes several wonder how safe the city is. Even though it is only a metal object, one wonders how the man who placed it managed to hoodwink the metal detector or the police.

Dinesh Rao, a forensic expert told a local TV channel, “If there were metal detectors, are they really functioning? If yes, they are inefficient. It needs to be investigated how it came to the railway track. How did anyone lay his hands on the metal casing? It exposes all the lacunae in the system. If it were a live grenade, the situation would have been disastrous. It can also be an indication that something might have gone terribly wrong.”