Lucknow, Nov 24: The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Uttar Pradesh Police will be probing the derailment
of Patna-bound 12741 Vasco Da Gama express at Manikpur station in Chitrakoot
district early Friday morning.
A separate inquiry will also be conducted by the commissioner
(railways safety). The Additional Director-General of Police (law and order),
Anand Kumar, here today that Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has been
pressed into service to probe the Manikpur train accident. Mr Kumar said, 'We are not taking any chances and hence, ATS
has been asked to probe whether there was any sabotage in the incident.' Three passengers died and nine were injured when Patna-bound
12741 Vasco Da Gama express derailed at Manikpur station in Chitrakoot district. The derailment could have been caused due to a rail fracture,
railways officials added. The accident occurred at around 0414 hrs at platform number
two of Manikpur station. Railway officials said that eight coaches from the
engine were intact while two coaches suffered major damage. The deceased were identified as a six-year-old Golu and his
father Deepak Patel (30) of Bettiah, Bihar, while the third could not be
identified. Of the injured, seven were admitted to CHC Manikpur and two
to district hospital. The injured were identified as Rinki Kumar (24) of Goa,
Abhishek (26) and Arvind Kumar (24), both from Varanasi, Raneshwar (50) from
Chappra, Bihar, Manjit Devi (22) from Samastipur, Indal Chauhan (24) and
Chandrashekhar(18) from Sonbhadra, Rajkumar Das (28) from Vaishali, Bihar and
Jai Kumar from Shillong. Officials said most of the injured were out of danger. Meanwhile, train services on the route have been suspended.
The trains were being diverted through alternate route. Railways have announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the
families of the deceased, Rs1 lakh to the critically injured and Rs 50,000 to
those with minor injuries. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed
condolences on the death of three passengers in the train derailment and
ordered all medical facilities to the injured passengers. Railway officials were quick to reach the spot along with
rescue and medical relief train. A special train has also been sent to Manikpur to ferry the
stranded passengers to the destination. Surprisingly, Railway Board Chairman Lohani was in Lucknow on
Thursday to inspect the safety and other aspects of the railways. Railway officials said the derailment occurred at an
inter-change point between the North Central Railway and Western Railway. Technical fault in the coaches may have led to the accident,
the officials said, though some others say that fractured rail track could be
the cause of the derailment. UNI
