Monday, August 4, 2008

How I survived a terror attack in my train.

As I was walking into my train, in the aftermath of the blasts & warangal burning train episode, I noticed that my AC-2 bogie is at the center of the train, a perfect location for a terrorist to place his jihadheads(my name for 'holy warheads').

I nervously boarded my already late train, wondering if any safety measures are taken by the police. As I got into the train, I observed that apart from the side upper/lower berths, my compartment had just two berths instead of four, as it was at the end of the bogie, with a curtain providing some privacy from the side berths.

I took my berth on the upper deck, all the time worrying about a terror attack in my train and I began to search for any escape hatch, just in case! But, to my disappointment,
I did not find any way to escape other than through the main door.

Then
I noticed a middle aged man with a gruff beard in my lower berth, speaking to someone over a call. Further his behavior seemed strange or rather suspicious. I started wondering "if he is a jiahdi? what is he planning? Is he making his next move tonight in this train?...". A few moments later, the guy went out of the train.

As I looked below, I saw his suitcase out of its place in the center of compartment and to my horror
I saw a plastic bottle with petrol on his seat. Did the guy go out to return back or did he setup his jihadheads and walk out, leaving the train and the passengers to their fate. Which passenger would bring a petrol bottle to the train, when recent fuel spill has killed hundreds of people in the burning train. Did his suitcase contain the conical shaped bomb? If it were to explode, the nuts and bolts would surely rip through my berth and into me. If not, the petrol would spill all over and kill everyone.

If it was indeed what
I assumed, I needed to take some action before the train starts. If I had gone on wait for the TC, I might have had to keep waiting forever. So many lives were at stake. I jumped out of my berth and closed the curtain and then opened the petrol bottle. It actually smelled like whiskey. But what the f. Even whiskey can catch fire. I got out of the train to check for the TC. But found the "terrorist" still speaking on call. Just then the train started moving. The "terrorist" jumped into the train. I followed him and climbed into my berth. The "terrorist" opened his food box and started having his dinner and consumed his whiskey.

May be all my assumptions were wrong. May be the terrorist is not the guy below, but my brain working against me. With newly gained optimism,
I call it a day and try to have a peaceful sleep. My train safely reaches its destination in the morning and I feel I have got a new lease of life while walking out of the station. I can proudly say that I survived a bomb scare, and lived to tell the tale!