Security agencies suspect that around two dozen incidents of objects being found on tracks since May 2023 could be part of attempts to sabotage the Indian Railways.
The most recent incident was a cylinder being found on the tracks near Kanpur railway station on Sunday. The matter is currently under the investigation of the Uttar Pradesh Police, along with the intelligence agencies of the state. Union minister Giriraj Singh has pointed out how foreign hand such as that of a hostile neighbour like Pakistan could be behind at least a couple of incidents.
In the Kanpur incident, a vigilant driver was able to apply the emergency brakes in time, preventing damage. Nonetheless, the agencies are trying to find answers to the key question – Why was a cylinder loaded with gas placed on the railway track?
From laying objects on train tracks to pelting of stones on premium trains such as Vande Bharat have been witnessed across many regions in the country in the past one-and-a-half years, according to the details available with the Ministry of Railways.
THE INCIDENTS
Four incidents, including the Kanpur one, have been reported within the first 10 days of September. A total of 15 such attempts were reported in August.
On August 1, 2024, a loaded cylinder and a bicycle were found on the railway tracks near Lalgopalganj Station in the Lucknow Division. Investigation showed a man, Gulzar, wanted to see the train run over these objects and make a video on social media. He was arrested from his residence in Khandroli, Uttar Pradesh, for placing items on railway tracks and creating dangerous videos for YouTube.
On August 30, 2024, two incidents were witnessed in different parts of the country. One between Chandan Nagar and Hafizpet railway stations in Secunderabad division in Telangana, where an 8-m rod weighing 20 kg was laid on the tracks. However, alert staff seized the object. The search for the miscreants is on. On the same day in Palamu in Jharkhand, which falls under the Dhanbad division, 100 Pandrol clips were stolen after being removed from the railway tracks. A case was registered in the name of unknown persons. The investigation is on.
Among the incidents, the oldest dates back to June 5, 2023, when a wooden block was found near the railway tracks in Bhadrak district in Odisha. While damage was averted, the matter is still under investigation. On October 2, 2023, two insulator pins made of iron and stones were placed in the gap of a plate on the railway track in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan under the Ajmer division. The investigator later apprehended two boys who attempted to do this. Both these boys were minors and were sent to juvenile homes.
FOURTH LARGEST RAILWAY NETWORK IN THE WORLD
The Indian Railways is the statutory arm of Ministry of Railways and one of the most widely used mode of transport. It is in many ways the cheapest mode of transport in India.
Established in 1951, India has the world’s fourth largest railway network system in terms of the kilometres of tracks that have been laid, and the distance that is covered. With a strength of 1.2 million staff members, not only is the Indian Railways, the second highest employer in country, but also the ninth largest employer across the world.
Ashwini Vaishnaw is currently the minister for Railways in the Modi government. He has been holding this portfolio from July 2021, when the Modi cabinet was rejigged in its last term. Apart from Vaishnaw, through the years that Narendra Modi has been the prime minister, Sadanand Gowda, Suresh Prabhu and Piyush Goyal have held this portfolio.
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