Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau.
In a concerning incident, unidentified miscreants placed a 20-feet-long iron pole on a railway track near the Bilaspur area, located 500 meters from Rudrapur City Station, on Wednesday night. The Naini Doon Jan Shatabdi Express, traveling from Dehradun to Kathgodam, was scheduled to pass through this section at 9:30 p.m. Fortunately, the loco pilot spotted the obstruction in time and halted the train by applying emergency brakes, averting a potential disaster.
On Friday evening, Pawan Kumar Srivastava, Commandant of the Izzatnagar Division (Bareilly) of the Railways, visited the site with senior officials to gather more information about the incident. During the visit, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel briefed Srivastava that the iron pole, identified as a telephone pole, had been lying near the track for some time before being placed deliberately on the railway line.
Srivastava said, “The case has been handed over to the Rampur police for investigation, and the RPF is fully cooperating in solving this matter.” He added that suspects were being questioned, though it remains unclear if the act was part of a larger conspiracy to derail the train. “While the pole could have caused damage, it was not capable of overturning the train,” Srivastava clarified.
Rajendra Singh, Public Relations Officer of Northeast Railway, confirmed the RPF’s active support in the investigation. “Authorities are looking into all possible angles to ensure railway safety”, he said.
