Accident averted after wheel on Gorakhpur-Yeshwantpur Express breaks
Nagpur, May 29: In a freak incident, a wheel of the speeding Gorakhpur-Yeshwantpur Express broke into two pieces near here on Tuesday morning but alert railway staff averted any tragedy, officials said.
The incident came to light after some unusual sounds emanated from the wheels and the driver stopped the train, but by then, it had already run a few kilometres before coming to a safe halt, said Central Railway spokesperson Sunil Udasi.
There are no casualties in the incident, he said, adding that the alert rail staff have been felicitated for their work.
The affected coach was disconnected, the passengers deboarded and accommodated in an alternative coach before the train departed for its onward journey.
Top officials described the incident as "unheard of" in Indian Railways.
"This is the rarest cases of wheel defect. It's a matter of detailed investigation and laboratory test of materials has been ordered," said Railway Board's Director, Media, Ved Prakash.
Experts will now probe whether the wheel broke due to excessive use or due to some defective materials used in its making.
Presently, the wheels used in the modern Linke Hofmann Busch coaches are imported from Europe and tested rigorously before used in passenger trains.
While ruling out the possibility of more such incidents, the railway officials said random samples could be picked up from anywhere for further scrutiny.
Wheels are checked on various railway tracks across India under varying conditions and the entire process can take three years.
After the testing period, the wheels are used on regular basis before they need to be replaced after 100,000 km running.
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
