MUMBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Four people were arrested with 6 kg (13.2 lb) of powerful explosives near a crowded railway station in Mumbai on Saturday, six months after a string of train bombings that killed 186 people in the financial hub.

The arrests were made near the Andheri station, one of the busiest halts on Mumbai's suburban railway network, following a tip-off by intelligence agencies, police said.

"We can not say now if these people are just carriers of the explosives or they were planning any attack," said a senior officer, who declined to be identified.

The seizure came days before India's Jan. 26 Republic Day, when anti-India militants and separatists have traditionally unleashed violence and called for boycotts of the celebrations.

Seven bombs ripped through trains and stations on Mumbai's local railway network last July, for which investigating agencies have blamed Pakistan-based Islamist militants fighting Indian rule in the northern revolt-torn region of Kashmir.

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