Shatabdi runs down six, train stalled for five hours

Gurgaon, Nov 3 : Six people were crushed by the speeding New Delhi-Ajmer Shatabdi Express near this suburban city early Tuesday, leading to angry protests and stone pelting that saw the train being stalled for more than five hours.

The incident took place in Pataudi, 26 km from this satellite town bordering New Delhi, at about 7.30 a.m., railway officials said. The train, with 500-600 passengers, was stranded at Pataudi for more than five hours before continuing its onward journey at around 1.15 p.m.

"Six people were run over by the New Delhi-Ajmer Shatabdi express this morning when they were illegally crossing the railway track in Pataudi. They were all from the same village," Anant Swarup, spokesperson of the Northern Railways, told IANS.

He said there was a mass agitation at the accident site thereafter.

"Because of the accident, the engine of the train was damaged and we sent another engine from Delhi. However, because of the ongoing protests there, the relief engine could not be attached immediately," he said.

"The Railway Protection Force (RPF) had to be sent to handle the situation," Swarup added.

Police officials added that angry people threw stones at the train and blocked traffic on the Delhi-Ajmer railway section to protest for a good five hours.

Eyewitnesses told police that the victims were trying to cross the track after a goods train passed the railway crossing in Hali Mandi area near Pataudi town. They did not realise that the speeding Shatabdi was coming on the track on the other side and were crushed under it, a police official said.

"The police finally managed to clear the track of the protestors and the train left Pataudi for its onward journey at 1.15 p.m.," Swarup told IANS.

While the protestors demanded that the kin of the victims be compensated by the railways, officials said that no such thing was being discussed as of now.

"The railways have not decided about any compensation till now," Swarup said.

The deputy commissioner of Gurgaon, however, announced a Rs.500,000 compensation for the victims' kin.

--IANS