Title - Concrete sleeper found on rail track

NASHIK: The Ghoti police in Nashik rural have registered a case against unidentified persons for attempting to sabotage the Amritsar-LokmanyaTilak Terminus (Kurla) Pathankot Express, near Ghoti, around 30 km from here."A concrete sleeper weighing 285 kg was put on the railway track (towards Mumbai) which obstructed the train, besides endangering the lives of the passengers. The railway officials have lodged a case of attempt to sabotage against unidentified persons with the Ghoti police under sections of the Indian Railways Act 1989 and 2003," officials of the Ghoti police station said.Pathankot Express (11058 UP), heading towards Mumbai, had passed Padali (nearly 22 km from Nashik) when the driver of the train noticed some object on the tracks. He slowed down the train but still the train hit the object. The sleeper hit the train engine and was dragged to a distance of around 20 metres. The driver halted the train at Ghoti station and informed the officials about the issue.

"We alerted the driver of the Kushinagar Express that was following Pathankot Express. The train's driver reported that the broken sleeper had fallen near the track at 152/18 km, after which, the railway engineers and the police rushed to the spot for inspection," the railway officials said.Since the site of the crime was outside the railway station, it falls under the jurisdiction of the state police which have the powers to enforce various sections of the Indian Railways Act, including 150 and 152 -attempt to sabotage and endangering the lives of passengers, respectively. "The case has been filed and the state police are looking into the matter," inspector B D Ipper of the railway police force said.

Officials pointed out that it is very difficult, even for a team of five people, to lift the 285-kg sleeper, adding that a major mishap was averted as the speed of the train was considerably reduced, and also because the sleeper broke and fell away from the track and not inside, which could have damaged the engine.