- 14 coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express derailed in Muzaffarnagar’s Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh
- The accident took place around 5:45 pm on Saturday
- At least 22 people reported killed, while over 200 were injured
- Senior railway official said that maintenance work may have caused derailment
- Four railway officials were suspended and three sent on leave
President Kovind Condoles Loss of Lives
President Ram Nath Kovind has written to Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik expressing condolence over the lives lost in the Utkal Express derailment.
“I am sad to learn about the derailment of the Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express at Khatauli near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, as a result of which a number of people lost their lives and others sustained injuries,” a statement by the Raj Bhawan said on Sunday citing the President’s letter.
“I understand both the state government and the railway authorities are providing all possible assistance to the bereaved families as well as the best of medical attention to the injured. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to all the injured persons,” the letter read.
Four Railway Officials Suspended
Cracking the whip, the Railways on Sunday night sent on leave its three top officials, including a secretary-level Railway Board official, suspended four and transferred one in the wake of Utkal train derailment which appeared to have been caused by negligence.
Member (Engineer) in the Railway Board, Aditya Kumar Mittal, Northern Railway General Manager RK Kulshrestha and Divisional Railway Manager (Delhi) RN Singh were sent on leave, said a Railway Ministry statement.
Officials are usually sent on leave till the time the probe is over and the responsibility fixed.
RK Verma, Senior Divisional Engineer, Delhi division, Rohit Kumar, Assistant Engineer (Meerut), Inder Jeet Singh, Senior Section Engineer (Muzzafarnagar) and Pradeep Kumar, Junior Engineer (Khatauli) have all been suspended, the statement said.
Chief Track Engineer, Alok Ansal, has been transferred, it added.
"No Terror Outfit Involved in Accident"
Uttar Pradesh Police’s ADG (Law and Order) said till now there was no proof of any terror outfit’s involvement in the derailment of the Utkal Express.
The ATS is camping there since yesterday (Saturday). As per investigations done till now, there is no concrete evidence pointing to the role of any terror outfit’s involvement in it.Anand Kumar
“Chances are that the derailment may have occurred due to some other or technical reasons,” the ADG said.
Track Maintenance Work May Have Caused Derailment: Railways
A preliminary probe has found that maintenance work was being carried out on the tracks where multiple coaches of the Utkal Express derailed.
Some maintenance work was going on, which might have cause the derailment of Utkal Express.Mohd Jamshed, Member Traffic, Railway Board
The senior official, who rushed to the spot in Khatauli where the accident occurred, said he had seen maintenance tools on the tracks.
There is an audio clip of a conversation that we will probe. Also, when we did a site inspection, we saw some equipment of the railways used for track repair present there.Mohd Jamshed
An initial report will be submitted to the ministry by Sunday evening, he said.
Jamshed said that a probe would ascertain if any maintenance work was being done on the tracks without permission.
“However, any work on tracks has to follow a manual. We have maintenance manuals which lay down guidelines for work on any kind of railway infrastructure,” he told the media.