Chandigarh, March 27: A 29-year-old man was killed while three sustained multiple injuries after they fell down from a running train on the railway tracks near Sector 19, here on Sunday evening.
The incident occurred at 9:42pm after the Sadbhavna Express that runs between Chandigarh and Lucknow left the Chandigarh railway station. As the train passed by the railway crossing in Sector 19 at full speed, Nagar Singh, a gateman at the crossing, saw four men falling from the train, one after another.
“I gave the red signal for immediately stopping the train, but it continued its journey,” he said. People soon gathered at the accident spot, and rushed the four youths to Government Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, where one of them, identified as Varinder Kumar, resident of Sector 11, was declared brought dead.
The injured were identified as Mukesh Kumar, 23, Ravi Kumar, 30, residents of Daria, and Sunil, resident of Sohana village, Mohali.
A doctor at the hospital’s emergency wing said Varinder died of multiple injuries, and the other three victims were referred to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, as they were grievously injured.
The train was running on the new Chandigarh-Dappar railway track that was opened on March 21. As per the eyewitnesses and initial probe of the Government Railway Police (GRP), the victims were sitting on the stairs of different coaches of the train, as it was packed to capacity.
Near the railway crossing at Sector 19, the men fell off the train after hitting an iron pole along the track. The iron poles were put up on both sides of the crossing during construction of the new track, and were meant to be removed.
Om Shukla, a local, said before the new track came up, these iron poles were six to seven feet away. “The poles should have been removed after construction of the new track,” he added.
Manisha Kumari, sub-inspector with Chandigarh GRP, said though it was suspected that the victims fell out after hitting the pole, they will wait to record the victims’ statement. “Since they are under treatment, their statements will be recorded on Monday,” she added.
