Iron angle found on railway tracks, sabotage suspected

Ahmedabad: Loco pilots of the Veraval-Sabarmati Express applied emergency brakes after spotting an iron angle on the tracks late on Sunday night. The railways have ordered an inquiry and are not ruling out the possibility of sabotage.Ghatlodia police registered a case on Monday against unidentified persons under Section 150(1) (maliciously wrecking or attempting to wreck a train) and 174(c) (obstructing the running of a train by tampering with, disconnecting, or interfering in any other manner with its hose pipe or tampering with signal gear or otherwise) of the Railways Act.The complaint was registered by Bhagwat Behera, senior section engineer (SSE) in the Western Railway Ahmedabad Division's Khodiyar Railway Station. The complainant stated that if there is any railway emergency between the Chandlodiya B panel railway line and Khodiyar railway line, he must visit the site. "On the night of Sunday, I received a message from railway engineering control at 8.58pm stating that on the Chandlodiya B panel and Khodiyar lines, the 26902 Veraval Sabarmati Express had encountered an iron angle under the train. The pilot removed the iron angle and proceeded with the train."The complainant stated that when he went to the spot, he found an iron angle approximately 20 feet long bent on both sides, beside the railway track. "We learned that the train's pilots stopped the train upon seeing the iron angle on the tracks, removed it with the help of the assistant pilot, checked the engine and tracks for any damage, and then proceeded with the train after a nine-minute delay."The complainant stated that the previous train, which did not have any passengers, passed without any hindrance. "It was found that some unknown person maliciously placed the iron angle on the tracks before 8,49pm on Sunday intending to cause a railway accident."Railway officials said that the locomotive pilot noticed the object, applied sudden brakes, removed the object, and moved ahead. "The railways have initiated an inquiry into the incident, and we do not rule out the possibility of sabotage," said officials.