MEERUT, June 2 -- A major train accident was averted on Saturday evening after an alert driver spotted some unusual objects on the track near Balwa village in Shamli district and applied emergency brakes, officials said.

Videos of the scene, which went viral on social media, show a 12-foot-long iron pipe placed across the tracks along with a large stone and several smaller rocks spread out over a considerable stretch of the railway line.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials claimed the obstruction was part of a planned sabotage. "It was not a random mischief; it was clearly done with intent," a senior GRP official said, adding efforts were underway to identify those responsible.

Passengers on boa...