4 schoolkids die as train rams pool car at open level crossing, gateman arrested
Mangled remains of the pool car that met with the accident Behrampore Four schoolchildren aged between seven and nine were killed when a passenger train
Mangled remains of the pool car that met with the accident Behrampore Four schoolchildren aged between seven and nine were killed when a passenger train rammed a pool car ferrying seven students at the Gobindapur railway gate near Karnasubarna station in Murshidabad on Friday morning. A 65-year-old cyclist, too, died on being knocked down by the train.Three other students and the driver of the pool car — a Tata Sumo — were hospitalised. Officials said the condition of the driver and one of the students was critical.Anup Karmakar, who was manning the gate at the level crossing on the Katwa-Azimganj section, has been arrested. Two track supervisors have been suspended.A preliminary probe corroborated statements by eyewitnesses that Karmakar had opened the level crossing gate after Nabadwip Dham Express passed through the Up line and a Nimtita-Katwa local was approaching through the Down line. The pool car and the cyclist entered the level crossing after the gate opened, but got trapped on the tracks as Karmakar, alerted by the horn of the approaching local train, promptly closed the gate again.The train mowed them down at 6.41 am.The railways issued a statement saying, “After Train No. 13431 passed in the Up direction, the gate was opened and the school van entered the crossing, where it was struck by the approaching Nimtita-Katwa Passenger train.”CM Suvendu Adhikari said a “human error” caused the deaths.
“The gateman has been arrested. I have directed police to medically examine whether he was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. This is an unpardonable crime.” In a post on X, he said, “Negligence will not be tolerated. A thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident will be conducted and I assure the people of West Bengal that the strictest possible action will be taken against those found responsible. ”The car was flung about 50 metre after being hit by the train, witnesses said. Residents rushed the students, driver and the cyclist to Karnasubarna Block Hospital in a Toto, from where all but two students were shifted to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) in Behrampore, around 10km away.Farhana Sultana (7), Jesica Yasmin (9) and cyclist Jamshed Ali were declared dead on arrival at MMCH. Isanur Rahaman (9) and Tamanna Parvin (8) died in the hospital’s ICU. Driver Mosharaf Molla and Anisha Khatun (8) are in a critical condition at the medical college. Two other students, Bisweswar Mondal and Shamina Khatun, are under treatment at Karnasubarna Block Hospital.The railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the each of the five deceased.
The BriefWire