Panic on local after cell battery explodes

Passengers jump off moving train after seeing smoke coming out of a bag

Passengers jump off moving train after seeing smoke coming out of a bag

Passengers of a Borivli-bound local pressed the panic button last night after a bag belonging to a fellow commuter started emitting smoke.

What they suspected to be a bomb was, however, a battery of a cellphone that exploded. But this did not stop nervous commuters from jumping off the running train. Some commuters suffered minor injuries.

The incident took place at around 9.45 pm between Andheri and Jogeshwari when 25-year-old Manishkumar Pathak's bag began to emit smoke in the general compartment of the train.
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Suspecting it was a bomb, co-passengers seized the backpack from him and hurled it out of the train.

Bomb Bhole: Exploding batteries are perhaps the least publicised of all cellphone related injuries.

As the word spread that there was a bomb on the train, the motorman called the Government Railway Police (GRP) office at Andheri station and the train was brought to a halt.

Pathak, an employee of Tikona Digital Services in Bhandup and a resident of Kandivli was questioned by the GRP, but was let off after investigations. "We found no reason to suspect him.
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The cellphone battery wasn't even in the handset, but was wrapped in a plastic bag, which was completely charred.
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It is likely that he must have picked up a fake piece from the market," said D B Rade, duty officer at Andheri station.

Attempts to get in touch with Rade proved futile. The rumours delayed northbound services on the Western Railway route by 15 minutes last night.