The Hindu : `Tell-tale' evidence to tampering of tracks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 22, 2002

National

National

`Tell-tale' evidence to tampering of tracks

By N. Rahul

Relatives search for their loved ones among the bodies lying near the site of the train accident near Pendakal station, 250 km south of Hyderabad, on Saturday. — AP

PENDEKAL (Kurnool) DEC. 21. All evidence is pointing to the sabotage theory in the accident involving the Kacheguda-Bangalore Express here today, which claimed 20 lives.

The Railway Board Chairman, I.I.M.S. Rana, had a detailed telephonic talk with the Union Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, from the accident spot in which he not only confirmed the "sabotage" theory but also described how it was carried out. There were several pieces of `tell-tale' evidence to the tampering of the track by anti-social elements, he said. "An inclined cut in the rail apparently by a hacksaw blade did all the damage."

After the cut, a huge boulder was used to leverage the rail to push it inside so that it was separated by a gap at the point of snap. Going by a piece of cloth recovered on the rail, the officials suspect that the culprits used it to cover the portion of the rail which was disjointed so that it did not arouse the driver's suspicion.

The officials also found the iron `filing' (powder), which dropped on the ballast due to the cutting of the rail. The forensic experts were called in to investigate into it.

In support of their argument, the officials said there was also evidence of the culprits having removed the Elastic Rail Chips (ESC) fastening the rail with the sleepers to ensure that the rail got separated on its course. The ESCs were removed from three or four sleepers. Whether they were removed before or after the cut was beside the point.

The Railways, which has been using unwelded rails for long stretches as part of modernisation of the tracks, had, at the spot, gone for a rail, which was welded, for 3 km. Unlike in other accidents, where the trains travel for a short distance from the point of breakage before going off the rails due to their gradual separation, the bogies here derailed right from the engine onwards, officials pointed out. This was because there was a wide gap at the point of snapping itself. The rail was cut on the approach of a bridge as a result of which the bogies were thrown off the embankment and four of them fell under the bridge. Two bogies overturned.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Central circle, R. P. Agrawal, informally agreed with the officials that the rail was cut. The Union Ministers of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya and A. K. Murthy, were briefed by officials.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National