09 February,2017 07:13 PM IST | | Faisal Tandel
Even before a third incident emerged of trains and commuters being put in harm's way, this time on the Panvel JNPT route, with pieces of tracks carefully placed in a track’s path, the Government Railway Police (GRP) had written to the railway officials
Even before a third incident emerged of trains and commuters being put in harm's way, this time on the Panvel JNPT route, with pieces of tracks carefully placed in a track's path, the Government Railway Police (GRP) had written to the railway officials.
However, a week on, and the authorities continue to remain unconcerned as the unwanted track pieces and cement sleepers continue to litter the side of the tracks, all the way from CST to Kalyan and even on the harbour route, as observed by this reporter.
On Wednesday morning, a third incident occurred, when an overhead mast was found lying on the Panvel-JNPT track. The motorman spotted it in time and had the piece removed, but the increased frequency of these instances has alarmed investigative agencies that have launched a parallel investigation with the local police and the GRP.
Nikesh Kaushik, CP, GRP has written a letter to the Divisional regional Manager (DRM) and GM of the Railway requesting the removal of the unwanted debris on the side of the tracks. Sources from ATS said, "We are running a parallel investigation in both the Diva and Kalamboli cases and have already visited the spots."
A senior GRP official added, "In both the incidents, getting any clue about the accused is difficult since it was on a isolated location. We have also interrogated the autorickshaw drivers and other gangmen working there, but no result."
In the last week of January, the DGP alerted all the police stations to be alert as it has emerged that railway derailment training is been given by the ISI and that Mumbai locals could be probable target.
Narendra Patil, chief public relation officer, Central Railway said, "After the first incident, we started removing the track piece. Also, RPF has conducted a survey, checking the status of the remaining pieces. We are not removing track pieces that are 13 foot and above, as we need them."
