Railways to probe Goel incident, may speak to BJP leader

JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP leader Vijay Goel alighted from the Ajmer Shatabdi at Bandikui in Dausa, 50-odd km from Jaipur, along with 10-12 people accompanying him, and headed for the well-known temple of Mehendipur Balaji that attracts devotees of Hanuman. Chief public relations officer of the north-western railway Lalit Bohara told TOI on Friday, "We have constituted a committee for a detailed probe.The committee will investigate if the unscheduled halt was a result of alarm chain pulling of if rail staff, including the train driver and guard, stopped the train."
A version of events even has Goel being in the driver's cabin. Some railway sources at Ajmer and Bandikui stations claimed Goel did come out of the driver's cabin. "Goel climbed a foot overbridge. He stood on the overbridge for a couple of minutes before the Shatabdi left," said a source. A senior officer said "Halting a train at an unscheduled station is a clear violation of Section 141 of Railway Act. The offender gets either Rs 1,000 as fine or one-year jail or both." Railway officers added that if needed the committee will speak to Goel.
Bohara said the staff at Bandikui is not at fault. "The train usually passes through at Bandikui railway station at around 9.30am every day and on Thursday the team including the signal staff gave a green signal to the train," he said. If involved, the train driver and guard can be charge sheeted and suspended. “Definitely Goel will be asked two things - first whether he had valid ticket to travel and if he or his supporters pulled the alarm chain at Bandikui," Bohra added.
Goel looks to keep himself in the news. After driving a blueline bus to chief minister Sheila Dikshit's doorstep in 2007 he was happy to be photographed.
But this time around an embarrassed central BJP office admitted that Goel's latest might be a little over the top. Still, the party offered no official reaction while informally confirming the incident did happen.