In a freak accident, three persons sleeping on the footpath were crushed to death after a goods train rammed into the wall near the pavement while it was being shunted into the yard.
The incident took place on Monday night at the Old Delhi Railway Station, near Kashmere Gate.
The coach of the train derailed as it was being reversed into the yard. As per the initial report, the driver who could not judge the distance kept reversing and ended up hitting the wall that caved in under the impact.
Several homeless people sleeping on the pavement near the wall were buried under the debris. “Three of them, including a woman were critically injured and died on the way to hospital. They were declared dead on arrival,” said a senior police official.
A Northern Railway official confirmed the incident and said the exact reason for the derailment will be known after a probe.
The railway employees who were moving the train have been identified as Nafe Singh, Ashok and Pani Ram. They have been taken into custody, their medical examination has been done and the report is awaited. The medical report will help to ascertain whether they were drunk at the time of the accident.
“The train was empty at the time of the incident which took place at midnight when it was being moved to the yard near Kashmere Gate. Civil police rushed the victims to hospital but they died on the way. The three staff members have been taken into custody and investigations are in progress,” said PRO Northern Railways AK Negi.