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Sabarmati Express Derailment: FIR lodged against unidentified persons; operations restored
On Saturday morning, 22 out of the 23 coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound train, carrying 1,702 passengers, derailed between Govindpuri and Bhimsen railway stations, resulting in minor injuries to a few passengers.
KANPUR: After the derailment of the Sabarmati Express in Kanpur, railway officials filed an FIR on Sunday, suspecting possible sabotage. North Central Railway’s senior section engineer, Mahendra Pratap Singh, lodged the FIR at Panki police station.
The FIR states that a piece of old rail, measuring 0.93 metres, was found between the up and down lines and showed signs of recent heating. This suggests that the rail piece, placed on the track by unidentified persons, may have caused the derailment. The FIR has been lodged under sections 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 150, 151, and 152 of the Railways Act, 1989.
On Saturday morning, 22 out of the 23 coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound train, carrying 1,702 passengers, derailed between Govindpuri and Bhimsen railway stations, resulting in minor injuries to a few passengers.
Loco-pilot A.P. Bundela reported spotting an object on the tracks, prompting him to apply emergency brakes, which led to the derailment of the engine and several coaches. The track sustained severe damage over a 400-metre stretch.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hinted at possible sabotage in a social media post on X, stating, “The engine struck an object on the tracks, and sharp impact marks are observed. Evidence has been preserved. The Intelligence Bureau and Uttar Pradesh police are investigating the matter.”
Forensic experts from Kanpur police and the railway technical team have seized the rail piece mentioned in the FIR, along with other metal fragments. The Intelligence Bureau, Railway Protection Force, UP ATS, and the Special Administrative Grade team of the railways are also conducting investigations into the incident.
When asked whether the derailment was caused by sabotage or maintenance issues, NCR general manager Upendra Nath Joshi, said that measurements and investigations were ongoing. Joshi was in Kanpur to supervise the resumption of rail traffic on the affected route.
Meanwhile, train movement on the Kanpur-Jhansi route has resumed, with the first goods train passing through at 7:41 AM. Joshi stated that track repairs were completed overnight, and trains will initially run at a cautious speed of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour.
