MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): It is being heard through sources that a probe has recommended a major penalty charge sheet against two officials and the minor penalty against two other Western Railway officials following a freak accident in which a lorry dashed Bandra Terminus-Amritsar Paschim Express on July 20.
There was no major damage to the train and it did not lead to an incident. Four railway personnel, including station superintendent B V Samant and Vinod Dalvi, pointsman Bharat Solanki and traffic inspector M S Shaikh, were suspended.
Sources said, “Samant and Solanki were recommended for a major penalty charge-sheet, while the other two will be served minor penalty charge-sheets as the inquiry found procedural lapses in the handling of the opening and closing of the gate through which the truck had entered.”
A departmental inquiry will be completed within 90 days, after which the officials will be served punishment. The major penalty includes maximum punishment of removal from service, while a minor penalty can be a demotion.
The driver of the truck, of a railway contractor, which was carrying construction material, was arrested under the Indian Railways Act for negligence and endangering the safety of passengers.
The truck entered the railway boundary through an opening which was not a thoroughfare. It tried to venture too close to the fifth line along which the train was passing. The driver tried to manoeuvre but he could not move the vehicle to safety in time, leading to the collision. The rear of the vehicle was badly damaged.
The locomotive too suffered minor dents but there was no injury to anyone. The locomotive was replaced and the train left Borivli at 2.35 pm on the day of the incident.
