On 9th November, a 35-year-old Indian Railways employee met a tragic death after being trapped between the locomotive and one of the coaches of a train. The incident occurred during a shunting operation at Barauni Junction in the Begusarai district of Bihar. The victim has been identified as Pointsman Amar Kumar Raut, who was crushed by the side buffers of the locomotive and the coach.
किसी की दुर्घटना में दुखद मृत्यु पर इस तरह की घटिया राजनीति इस देश के नेता प्रतिपक्ष के कद को छोटा करती है। इस घटना की जांच हो गई है और निष्कर्ष निकला है कि मृतक के सह कर्मी मोहम्मद सुलेमान की गलती और लापरवाही की वजह से कांटावाला अमर कुमार की जान गई।
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 10, 2024
अगर समझ और संवेदना शून्य नहीं… https://t.co/Lb3CUO773X pic.twitter.com/8VP9sxsur0
Reports suggest that the tragic incident took place when he was decoupling the engine of the Lucknow-Barauni Express after its termination at Barauni Junction. Amar Kumar was between the engine and the coach to close the Centre Buffer Coupler, and was standing between the side buffers of the engine and the coach. Suddenly, the loco pilot moved the engine backwards, crushing Kumar between the side buffers.
Now, it has been revealed that it was caused by a human error. However, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi chose to use this accident to attack the government. He accused the Modi govt of only for Adani and not for others.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi shared a screenshot of a Times of India report on the matter and wrote, “When will the common people be safe, Modiji? You are just busy making ‘one’ Adani safe. This horrific picture and news is the result of long-standing negligence, neglect, and deliberate low recruitment by Indian Railways.”
आम लोग कब safe होंगे, मोदी जी? आप तो बस 'एक' अडानी को safe करने में लगे हुए हैं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 9, 2024
ये भयावह तस्वीर और खबर भारतीय रेल की लंबी लापरवाही, उपेक्षा और जान बूझकर की गई कम भर्तियों का परिणाम है। pic.twitter.com/JEfiMXvY53
Rahul Gandhi described it as “negligence, neglect, and deliberate low recruitment by Indian Railways.”
But, it has been now revealed that the accident took place because of a grave mistake by one of the Railway employees involved in the shunting operation. As per a probe by the Railways, Pointsman Mohammed Suleman “mistakenly” signalled the loco shunter to move the locomotive, leading to Amar becoming trapped.
According to information shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya, railway officials found during their investigation that “due to the failure of proper coordination and harmony between Pointsman Mohammed Suleman and Pointsman Amar Kumar, a state of confusion led to an incorrect signal being given by Mohammed Suleman to the loco shunter, which caused the accident.”
Therefore, although it was a case of negligence, it was the negligence of one particular employee.
Chronology of events
According to the report submitted by the investigation team set up by East Central Railway general manager Chhatrasal Singh, the chronology of the events is as follows.
On 9th November 2024, at 08:10, train number 15204 (Lucknow-Barauni Express) arrived on line number 06 at Barauni Station. The station master directed Pointsmen Mohammed Suleman and Amar Kumar Raut to detach the engine. By 08:12, the loco shunter took charge of the locomotive, and at 08:15, the train, along with its load, was moved to the fueling point for refuelling the power car.
At approximately 08:27, Pointsman Mohammed Suleman signalled for a buffer and indicated the loco shunter to move forward using a hand gesture. Shortly after, at 08:28, Suleman again used a hand gesture to signal the engine to move backwards. Then, at around 08:29, Suleman rushed back and urgently signalled for the engine to move forward. This series of events led to several people running towards the engine, sensing something had gone wrong.
By 10:15, the engine and the power car were detached to extract the body of Amar Kumar, who had been trapped between the engine and the coach (LWLRRM). At 11:10, the body was removed from the track and subsequently sent for post-mortem at 12:15 via ambulance.
The investigation, based on CCTV footage, witness statements, and available evidence, concluded that the lack of proper coordination and harmony between Pointsman Mohammed Suleman and Pointsman Amar Kumar resulted in confusion. This confusion led Suleman to give an incorrect signal to the loco shunter, which ultimately caused the accident. The responsibility for the incident was attributed to Mohammed Suleman (Pointsman) at Barauni.
However, in a statement, Suleman has denied that he was responsible, and blames the shunting pilot instead. He claims that the loco pilot moved the engine even though he didn’t give any signal using hand gestures or a whistle. He said that he was standing near the engine in front of the shunter at the time of the incident.
