In yet another train accident in Uttar Pradesh, seven coaches of Jabalpur-bound Shaktipunj Express derailed near Obra station in Sonbhadra district on Thursday morning.
luckily, the train was moving slowly and hence only a few passengers suffered minor injures. They were shifted to a hospital and senior railway officials rushed to the spot to clear the track so that the traffic could be restored. ADG (law and Order) Anand Kumar confirmed that the incident occurred around 6:30 am when 11448 Howrah-Jabalpur Shaktipunj Express got derailed and seven of its rear coaches jumped off the tracks. The mishap occurred between Obra and Fafrakund stations leading to a disruption of rail services on Chaupan-Singharauli rail route. Train services were later diverted through alternative routes.
Prima facie it seemed that the train derailed due to problem in the tracks but still security personnel were looking into the sabotage angle as the area has Naxalites influence. This is the fourth rail accident in the state in the past 10 days. Sonbhadra, sharing boundaries with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar, is a Naxalite-affected region of the state. Initially, railway officials did not rule out the incident as a subversive activity. PRO of East Central Railways RK Singh said that the seven coaches which derailed were later detached and traffic resumed at the site. All passengers were accommodated in the remaining coaches and the train left within an hour. This is third derailment in Uttar Pradesh in less than a month and the first since Piyush Goyal was handed over the Railway ministry in the recent Cabinet reshuffle after Suresh Prabhu offered to step down taking moral responsibility for previous two accidents.
Meanwhile, an accident was averted on Thursday as a fracture in the track was detected between Farrukhabad and Fatehgarh, minutes before the Kalindi Express was scheduled to pass by. Alert locals managed to get the Delhi-Kanpur Kalindi Express stopped before the damaged rail track. Railway officials, accompanied by local police, visited the site near Bhopatpatti and the train left for its destination after 30 minutes. SP of Fatehgarh Dayanand Mishra said that the matter was being probed.