Three coaches of Puducherry Express derail in Mumbai after another train dashes it
Mumbai (PTI): Three coaches of the Dadar-Puducherry Express (Train no 11005) derailed near Matunga station in Mumbai on Friday night after the engine of the CSMT-Gadag Express, going in the same direction, dashed it sideways, a Central Railway official said.
So far there were no reports of anyone getting injured in the incident which took place around 9.45 pm, he said.
The incident took place a day before the 169th anniversary of the first run of a passenger train in India.
Signal jumping by the Gadag Express could have led to the accident, railway sources said, though the exact cause will be ascertained only after a probe. Some express trains were cancelled or short-terminated after the incident and the traffic of local trains too was affected.
The Dadar-Puducherry Chalukya Express was entering on DOWN fast line from platform 7 of the Dadar Terminus in central Mumbai when the CSMT-Gadag Express, which departed around 9.30 pm, dashed it sideways on a crossing, the official said.
A video of the incident which went viral on social media showed that the coaches of the two express trains brushed against each other before the derailment. Some passengers can also be heard alerting each other while this happened.
Shivaji Sutar, chief spokesperson of Central Railway, said that relief trains had been sent to the site.
The traffic on the Up and Down slow lines, which was suspended for some time for safety reasons, had been restored, he added.
This was the second derailment on the Central Railway section this month. Earlier, the Lokmanya Tilak-Jaynagar Express (Pawan Express) had derailed near Nashik in Maharashtra on April 3, 2022.
Friday's incident took place a day before the 169th anniversary of railways in India. The first passenger train in India (and Asia) ran between Mumbai and Thane on April 16, 1853. Indian railway, thus enters into its 170th year of service from Saturday.
Railway officials said the engine of the Gadag Express (which passed from Dadar station's platform number 5) rammed into the eighth coach of Puducherry Express from the rear end, derailing the latter's coach numbers 7 to 9.
The seventh coach of the Puducherry Express tilted a bit after the derailment. Due to the impact of the derailed coach, an overhead wire and a mast (pole) were also badly damaged.
Railway sources said the accident might have happened due to signal jumping by the Gadag Express, but this can be ascertained only after a probe.
Sutar said that a high-level probe has been ordered.
The authorities were aiming to bring the coaches back on rails and restore the traffic as early as possible, he said.
The railway authorities cancelled the Dadar-Sainagar Shirdi Express along with the Puducherry Express and Gadag Express.
Some mail-express trains including the Pune-Mumbai Indrayani Express, Nanded-Mumbai Tapovan Express and Madgaon-Mumbai Mondavi Express were short-terminated.
The zonal railways has announced following helpline numbers for the passengers: CSMT- 022-22694040, Dadar – 022-24114836, Thane – 022-25334840, and Kalyan – 0251-2311499.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
