A Varanasi-bound train was halted at Dadri near Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh late on Friday evening following a call that a bomb could be aboard.

The 2660 Shivganga Express, which left New Delhi at 1825 IST, was detained immediately after it left Ghaziabad station at around 2000 IST, Chief PRO (Northern Railways) Devender Sandhu told PTI.

All the passengers were off-loaded and police searched the train with the assistance of a Bomb Disposal Squad and sniffer dogs.

The search was called off at 2245 IST, the call declared a hoax and the train allowed to resume its onward journey, Sandu said.

He said the caller who identified himself as Mani Singh, claimed to an army man and a passenger of the train.

Mani Singh claimed to have 'smelt' chemicals, which could be a bomb, Sandhu said.

"As he claimed to be from the army, his call could not be taken lightly and so the train was stopped and searched," Sandhu said.

Singh's identity card has been seized, he said.