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Sabarmati Express accident caused by an act of sabotage: FIR | India News
KANPUR/LUCKNOW: The derailment of 22 coaches of Sabarmati Express near Kanpur on Saturday was a result of sabotage, says the FIR registered against several unknown persons.
The FIR, lodged on Sunday, is based on a complaint by the railways’ senior section engineer Mahendra Pratap Singh, claiming that the “piece of rail” found on the tracks was deliberately placed there.
A joint probe by a six-member team has also suspected “deliberate rail chunk placement” on the track to be the cause of the derailment.
Travelling barely 10km after departing Kanpur Central railway station, the Sabarmati Express, ferrying more than 1,700 passengers, derailed on Saturday at around 2.29am.
According to the joint note, “a 93cm-long rusty rail chunk was placed by an unknown person on the active rail track, which caused the derailment.”
The note said, “The old rail chunk was found at km number 1338117-15. There was a fresh hitting mark on one side of the rail chunk. Fresh hitting marks were also found on the locomotive’s cattle-guard.
The welding of the cattle guard was found broken. This indicates that the derailment occurred due to the rail chunk which could have been placed on the track by an unknown person.”
The train had dragged on around 450m after the derailment that took place a few days ago. Following the accident, a forensic team took the rusty old chunk of rail for further probe.
According to sources, rail maintenance staff in the past have been found leaving rail chunks along rail tracks after maintenance work. It’s possible that in this case vibration caused by the cruising train might have shifted this metre-length old rusty rail chunk onto the active track, sources added.
“But a sabotage attempt cannot be ruled out. All angles will be probed by the commissioner of railway safety,” an official said.
According to railway sources, prior to the accident, 104 passengers had boarded the train from Kanpur Central. In total, there were 1,727 passengers when the accident took place.
The FIR, lodged on Sunday, is based on a complaint by the railways’ senior section engineer Mahendra Pratap Singh, claiming that the “piece of rail” found on the tracks was deliberately placed there.
A joint probe by a six-member team has also suspected “deliberate rail chunk placement” on the track to be the cause of the derailment.
Travelling barely 10km after departing Kanpur Central railway station, the Sabarmati Express, ferrying more than 1,700 passengers, derailed on Saturday at around 2.29am.
According to the joint note, “a 93cm-long rusty rail chunk was placed by an unknown person on the active rail track, which caused the derailment.”
The note said, “The old rail chunk was found at km number 1338117-15. There was a fresh hitting mark on one side of the rail chunk. Fresh hitting marks were also found on the locomotive’s cattle-guard.
The welding of the cattle guard was found broken. This indicates that the derailment occurred due to the rail chunk which could have been placed on the track by an unknown person.”
The train had dragged on around 450m after the derailment that took place a few days ago. Following the accident, a forensic team took the rusty old chunk of rail for further probe.
According to sources, rail maintenance staff in the past have been found leaving rail chunks along rail tracks after maintenance work. It’s possible that in this case vibration caused by the cruising train might have shifted this metre-length old rusty rail chunk onto the active track, sources added.
“But a sabotage attempt cannot be ruled out. All angles will be probed by the commissioner of railway safety,” an official said.
According to railway sources, prior to the accident, 104 passengers had boarded the train from Kanpur Central. In total, there were 1,727 passengers when the accident took place.
