RailEnquiry

Nellore Member of Parliament and senior YSR Congress Party leader Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy demanded that the Railway Ministry ensure a fair probe and take firm action against those responsible for the lapses that took a heavy toll of life in Tamil Nadu Express fire tragedy.Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Rajamohan Reddy said that he would make a special mention of the ghastly mishap in the Parliament seeking swift action by the railways in the matter.“There are reports about sabotage or inflammables. The officials should find out actual reason and take the guilty to task,” he added.Mr. Reddy said that it is a serious matter that unreserved passengers are being allowed into the coaches without properly checking their antecedents. He demanded ex gratia of Rs. 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and also a job for dependents.

DNA matching
Mr. Reddy said that Railway Minister Mukul Roy, during his recent visit to mishap site, told him about the lack of sufficient budget for modernisation of railways. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister should look into this aspect and resolve the problem in the interest of passengers’ safety, he added.

Meanwhile, the number of total identified bodies came to 24 by Thursday with four bodies remaining unidentified, which may require DNA matching.

DM&HO Masila Mani said that the condition of three passengers undergoing treatment at Nellore, Vijayawada and Chennai is serious as their burns are of 55 to 80 per cent.

“There is a need to shift Sukhdev Singh of Amritsar, presently at Narayana Hospital, to Chennai. But his old parents don’t want to shift,” he added.