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Jalgaon: An independent inquiry by the Railway Safety Commissioner (CRS) is unlikely on the Pushpak Express (Pushpak Express) train accident in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, as passengers ignored their own safety. Railway sources gave this information. On Wednesday, 12 passengers who got off the train after rumours of fire in Jalgaon district of North Maharashtra died after being hit by a train coming on the adjacent track.
Inquiry by CRS unlikely
The Railway Board on Thursday appointed a team of five of its senior officials to investigate the incident, but experts say that the investigation by CRS is unlikely. The CRS is an independent body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is empowered by various Acts and Rules to inspect, investigate and advise on matters of safety of rail travel and train operations.
CRS Manoj Arora informed
A railway source said, “As per rules, the railway administration has informed CRS Manoj Arora of the Central Circle about the accident and now it is up to him whether he will conduct the inquiry or not.” Arora could not be contacted for comment on the matter despite several attempts. Meanwhile, a section of safety experts cited the Railway (Notice of Inquiry into Accidents) Rules, 1998, to say that death or injury of any railway passenger is considered a ‘serious railway accident’ and a CRS inquiry is mandatory for it.
Deaths caused due to negligence of passengers
However, he said that if the death or injury is caused due to the passenger’s own negligence, it cannot be considered as such and it is the discretion of the CRS to initiate or not to initiate an inquiry. Details that have emerged about the Jalgaon train tragedy revealed that passengers of the Pushpak Express, who got off the train due to rumours of fire, had enough time to move to safer places as the Karnataka Express arrived 20 minutes later.
Train stopped due to emergency chain pulling
Officials in New Delhi said that the people who got off the train which stopped due to emergency chain pulling between Maheji and Pardhade station at 4:45 pm on Wednesday stayed on the adjacent track despite the imminent danger. They said that at around 5.05 pm Karnataka Express passed from there and 12 passengers were hit by it. They dismissed the reports that some passengers of Pushpak Express jumped off the train in a hurry.
What is a serious railway accident?
In this regard, a retired CRS said on the condition of anonymity, ‘It has been defined in the 1998 rules what is a serious railway accident and according to this, the death or injury of even a single passenger can be considered a serious railway accident. Not only this, for CRS investigation, damage to railway property of more than Rs 2 crore can also be considered a serious railway accident.
The responsibility of taking decision was left to CRS
He said, ‘But if the death of the passengers is due to their own negligence, then in such a situation the responsibility of deciding whether to investigate or not has been left to CRS.’ A senior security officer of the railway said that the death of a passenger traveling on the roof or footboard of the train, a person standing on the track, any outsider (not a passenger) getting hit by the train does not come under the definition of a serious railway accident.
The passengers were careless about their safety
He said, ‘In such cases, it is the duty of the concerned station master to tell the full details of the accident to CRS, which also includes information about the death and the injured. It is left to the CRS to initiate an inquiry or not.’ Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the All India Railwaymen’s Federation, supporting the security experts, said that prima facie it appears that the passengers of the Jalgaon rail accident were careless about their safety.
These deaths are very sad for the families
Mishra said, ‘I have personally looked into the matter and collected all the details from railway officials and staff of Bhusaval division, where the incident took place. These deaths are very sad for the families, but it was extreme negligence on the part of the passengers, who were standing on the track and were oblivious to the fast-moving train.’
