Bomb found on train to Tarakeshwar

KOLKATA: Police defused a bomb found on a train in the eastern city of Kolkata on Monday, police said, three days after a blast at a mosque in Hyderabad killed 16 people, including 5 in police firing.

The train was headed for Tarakeshwar, about two hours west of Kolkata. The bomb was found during a routine security check minutes before the train was about to leave the city's Howrah station.

"We have identified it as an improvised explosive device and our bomb squad has separated it," said Amar Kanti Sarkar, a top railway police officer.

Security was stepped up across Kolkata, particularly at train and bus stations, police and witnesses said. Extra forces were deployed and passengers and rail cars were being checked closely, they said.

Warnings were being issued on public address systems to report unclaimed objects to the police.

Eleven people were killed in Hyderabad in a bomb blast at Mecca Masjid during Friday prayers. Five people were shot dead by police trying to stop subsequent violent demonstrations in the communally sensitive city. 

Indian intelligence agencies and security analysts say Islamist militant groups, backed by Pakistani spy agency ISI, are targeting Muslim and Hindu religious places to trigger communal clashes between the two communities.