A BA II-YEAR girl student was crushed under a speeding train while she was trying to cross the railway tracks at Daliganj on her way back from college on Saturday afternoon.
The incident took place when Shashi Prabha, student of Ramadhin Degree College, Daliganj and resident of Bharat Nagar, Madiaon, was returning home after classes. Moving on foot with two classmates, Shashi found the Daliganj railway crossing closed.
Despite the train being dangerously close, the girls decided to cross the railway tracks. Though two of the girls managed to cross the tracks, Shashi was knocked down by the train and trapped under its wheels. She died on the spot.
Passers-by and local residents tried to stage an agitation at the Daliganj crossing demanding ex-gratia for the kin of the deceased and to initiate action against the train driver. But, railway officials and GRP men pacified the mob stating that jumping the barrier on manned tracks was an offence. The agitation ended when they convinced people that the girl was wrong in crossing the tracks and it was not fault of the train driver.
One of the girls accompanying Shashi spoke about the incident, on condition of anonymity. She said initially, they kept waiting on the other side of the gate to let the train pass. But, they saw people on bicycles and two-wheelers ducking the gate and crossing the railway tracks. The girls too decided to follow and cross the tracks before the train arrived.
{{/usCountry}}One of the girls accompanying Shashi spoke about the incident, on condition of anonymity. She said initially, they kept waiting on the other side of the gate to let the train pass. But, they saw people on bicycles and two-wheelers ducking the gate and crossing the railway tracks. The girls too decided to follow and cross the tracks before the train arrived.
{{/usCountry}}The girl further said that two of them crossed it quickly but Shashi’s schoolbag got stuck in the iron-bar of the gate. It took a few seconds for Shashi to detach the bag. She could not see train speeding close and tried to cross the tracks when she was trapped under its wheels, the girl said.