New Delhi: Alert railway staff foiled attempts by unidentified miscreants to derail trains at four different places located at Nepanagar in Madhya Pradesh, Prempur in Uttar Pradesh, at Surat in Gujarat and on Bathinda-Delhi railway track in Punjab on Sunday and Saturday.
In Madhya Pradesh's Nepanagar, the miscreants tried to derail a special train using detonators. As the train passed over the detonators, the driver became alert due to an explosion and promptly stopped the train. He informed the station master, preventing a potentially deadly accident. The conspiracy involved the placement of 10 detonators on the tracks. Top officials from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), National Investigation Agency (NIA), railways, and local police inspected the site.
Reacting to the incident, Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar said, "This is a matter of various investigations, and our railway staff is fully alert. When the incident occurred, our security agency immediately launched an investigation, and one person has been apprehended. Investigations take time, and we are following a systematic approach."
In the second incident, a big conspiracy was hatched to derail a train at Prempur railway station between Kanpur and Prayagraj. A 5 kg gas cylinder was kept on the railway track. Upon seeing it, the loco pilot applied emergency brakes and stopped the goods train. Otherwise a big accident could have happened.
On receiving the information, many teams including GRP, RPF reached the spot. Forensic and dog squad teams also investigated. This is the fifth incident of train overturning attempts in the last 38 days.
On Sunday morning around 5:50 am, a goods train was going towards Prayagraj from Kanpur. The goods train was about to stop at Prempur station, about 35 km from Kanpur. At this time, the loco pilot Devendra Gupta saw a 5 kg gas cylinder lying on the railway line. On this, he stopped the goods train by applying emergency brakes. After this, the railway officials were informed about the incident.
Within a short time, many teams including GRP and RPF reached the spot. The cylinder was checked and removed. However, when the cylinder was checked, it was found that it was empty. Despite this, the matter is being investigated seriously in view of the possibility of the train being derailed. Earlier also, after the Sabarmati Express, an attempt has been made to derail the Kalindi Express also.
In Punjab, miscreants placed nearly a dozen iron rods on the Bathinda-Delhi railway track on Sunday. Which could have caused a major accident. But due to the vigilance of the railway driver there, a major accident was averted. Following this, the goods train coming to Bathinda had to be halted for about 45 minutes on the Delhi railway track. The officials arrived at the spot and removed the debris on the track and also started investigating the entire matter. At the same time, Shiromani Akali Dal's local ward in-charge Gautam Masih said that information was received at 7 am about the iron rods on the track.
At Surat in Gujarat, the alertness of railway patrol staff helped in foiling a conspiracy to overturn a train by removing the safety pin ERC (Elastic Rail Clip) and fish plate of the railway track at Kim Bridge between Kim-Kosamba. The incident took place on Saturday and a major accident was averted due to the alertness of Subhash Podar who was on patrol. When the railway master of Kim station came to know about the incident, he immediately stopped the Garib Rath train at Kosamba railway station.
Seven times in 38 days: About 22 coaches of Sabarmati Express derailed after hitting a boulder in Govindpuri, Kanpur, on the night of 16 August. In the same sequence, an attempt was made to overturn a passenger train on 24 August by placing a piece of wood in front of the train. The train was going from Farrukhabad to Kasganj. After this, on 8 September, a gas cylinder was also placed on the Anwarganj-Kasganj railway line. Kalindi Express hit it. The NIA, ATS and IB teams are also investigating the case. During the investigation, bottles filled with petrol, matchsticks etc. were also recovered.
Also, an attempt was made to overturn the Naini Doon Express on 18 September. An iron pole was placed on the railway line. The loco pilot stopped the train by applying emergency brakes. The fifth incident took place in the early hours of Sunday.
NCR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Shashikant Tripathi said that the cylinder is empty, but how and with what intention it reached the track is being thoroughly investigated. A case will also be registered in this matter soon. CCTV footage of all the nearby locations is being scanned. Along with this, necessary steps are also being taken for the security of the station and the track. Railway workers have been asked to take necessary steps. (with agency inputs)
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