Patna: The security guard of the North East Express that derailed in Bihar has claimed that the driver had applied emergency brakes which led to the mishap.
“I don’t know why he applied the emergency brakes. As a result, the train took severe jolts several times and then I lost consciousness. I gathered consciousness after some time. The train was travelling at the speed of 128 kmph,” said Vijay Kumar, the guard of North East Express train.
The accident that took place at 9.53 p.m. on Wednesday night claimed four lives and 30 were injured. Besides, around 100 passengers sustained minor injuries as well.
Tarun Prakash, the general manager of East Central Railway earlier suspected that the track was dislocated at some places. However, he was not confirmed about it, but he said that this could be the reason that the driver had applied the emergency brake on the train.
“We have the standard procedure to investigate such an accident. A high-level expert committee is investigating the accident. The track was dislocated or not cannot be said at this point. We have to wait for the probe report,” Prakash said.
“The East Central Railway is completely shut at the moment. The repair work is underway. We have brought big cranes and earth mover machines to reinstall the tracks and restore normalcy on this route,” said A.N. Sinha, IGP RPF.
At present, the railway has diverted 22 trans bound to Kolkata and Guwahati via Patna-Gaya-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction and Arrah-Sasaram-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction.
“The Indian Railways has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the family members of deceased, Rs 2 lakh to the passengers who are seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar also announced Rs 4 lakh to the deceased’s kin and Rs 50,000 to the injured passengers but the way he has announced the compensation, it reflects his insensitivity,” said Samrat Chaudhary, the BJP state president of Bihar.
“Prime Minister should give a statement on the Raghunathpur train tragedy. He used to flag off the Vande Bharat Express train every day and the train tragedies are also taking place regularly. A massive train tragedy happened in Odisha. They are privatizing everything including the railway then why accidents are happening here. They are only lauding themselves but doing nothing,” said JD(U) state president Lalan Singh.
–IANS