Responding quickly to the information from Collector, Rayagada about the fatal Hirakhand train accident, the intelligence cell of the 4th Battalion CRPF stationed at Rayagada rushed to the spot with their rescue and relief team led by Commandant MK Sharma after direction from PK Nayak, DIGP.
The team got into quick action at the spot by cordoning the entire area to thwart any kind of subversive activity which was usual during the dark night. The stark darkness did not deter this committed wing of paramilitary force from their yeomen service to the affected people.
This unit led by Nayak and Sharma had gone beyond its usual role of maintaining peace and tranquility in the area by instilling confidence among the persons groaning with severe pain. They rescued five seriously injured persons including a woman from the truncated bogies and sent them to the district headquarters hospital at Rayagada and Parvatipuram Hospital.
The team complemented the effort of the technical wing of Railways and evacuated all the injured persons and bodies. They helped the victims get quick access to medical assistance. Their medical assistance team, apart from providing the fast aid care at the spot, referred the injured to the nearby hospitals by their unit and civil ambulances.
In the headquarters hospital, amidst injured persons and corpses and scores of their relatives and well-wishers, the jawans were seen distributing water sachets to all those present there. More than the bureaucratic disciplinary order, the human face of this force was crystal clear. They did not forget their primary responsibility of keeping law and order and extending protection to the dignitaries like Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Tribal Affairs Minister lal Bihari Himirika, MPs N Bhaskar Rao, Jhinna Hikaka, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, Health Secretary Dr Promod Meherda, DGP KB Singh, among others. The dignitaries have appreciated the uninterrupted service of the wing of the force.