E-Paper
Telangana woman held for driving car on railway tracks
The accused entered the railway tracks at a level-crossing gate between Shankarpally-Nagulapally stations and continued driving her car despite attempts by railway staff to stop her
The Telangana police have arrested a 34-year-old woman for damaging public property after she drove her car on the railway tracks near Shankarpalli in the Rangareddy district for about 7kms on Thursday morning, disrupting train services for at least an hour, officials said.
The incident happened at around 7am between Nagulapalli and Shankarpalli stations when the woman, identified as Vomika Sony from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, suddenly entered the railway tracks at a level-crossing gate between Shankarpally-Nagulapally stations and continued driving her car, a Kia Sonet, despite attempts by railway staff to stop her, a railway official said.
The locals at Nagulapalli noticed the woman driving the car on the track, shouted at her and attempted to stop the vehicle. However, Sony threatened them by brandishing a rod, preventing them from coming near her and drove the car swiftly along the railway tracks, the railway official said.
The villagers then alerted railway personnel, who in turn informed higher railway authorities. The train pilot operating on that route was also notified. As a result, train services on the route were halted as a precautionary measure.
A video of the incident has been widely shared on social media since.
Prima facie, Sony was under the influence of alcohol, Shankarpalli police inspector K Srinivas Goud said.
“She tried to resist their attempts to stop her and even threw stones at bystanders. She attempted to attack police officers who tried to apprehend her. She was handed over to the railway police, who booked her in the case for trespassing the railway property and will produce her in their court for judicial remand,” he said.
The police have also filed a case against Sony under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those pertaining to creating nuisance, attacking the police, obstruction of their duties and damage to the public property, Goud said.
“She was later taken into custody and sent to Chevella government hospital for a medical examination,” Goud said. “…we are awaiting medical reports to find out whether she had taken any other intoxicating material,” he said.
Sony’s family has told the police that she under severe depression after she lost her job at an IT firm, the police officer said.
“We spoke to her family members in Lucknow and they informed us that she had been under severe depression since she lost her job
The episode resulted in disruption of train services on Hyderabad-Bengaluru route for about an hour and some trains were stopped at the surrounding railway stations. “The train services resumed at around 8am,” the inspector said.
