In the midst of a comprehensive inquiry into a train collision, overseen by the chief commissioner of railway safety, it has been determined that the accusation against the deceased locomotive driver of a freight train is unfounded. There are suspicions that a group posing as police and railway employees may have conspired to fabricate this complaint.
It is worth noting that a collision between a goods train and a passenger train Kanchenjunga Express near Rangapani railway station in Siliguri in the morning of 17 June claimed 10 lives and injuring several others.
Janak Kumar Garg, the chief commissioner of railway safety, has begun an investigation into the incident after visiting the site yesterday.
Today, Mr Garg was conducting hearings at an administrative building in New Jalpaiguri with railway employees involved in the job, including those responsible for signalling systems, and the public who were interested.
“We had no knowledge of this. It is possible that there was a plot to mislead the investigation,” said a senior railway officer.
A number of wounded individuals were not just admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, but a few were also taken to private healthcare facilities for more extensive treatment.
The assistant loco driver Munna Kumar was among those who was transferred to a private nursing home.
The dean of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandeep Sengupta, reported that 30 injured passengers are currently receiving medical treatment. Out of these, only three individuals are being cared for in the trauma unit. One of them is in serious condition, according to the latest update today.
Today, Goutam Deb, the mayor of Siliguri and chairman of Rogi Kalyan Samiti at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital visited the injured individuals at the medical college.
During his visit, Mr Deb went to a private nursing home where he met Munna Kumar, who is receiving treatment there.
Mr Deb evaluated the driver’s condition and determined that he would need assistance from the government.
The mayor of Siliguri also conversed with the mourning relatives of Ashish De, guard of the Kanchenjunga Express, who died in the incident.
The mayor assured them that he would offer any aid they require during this challenging period.
Mr Deb met various others, including a person named Chaitali Majumdar, who resides in Ward 33, from where he was elected as councillor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
According to some media reports, Ms Majumdar reported an incident to the GRP at New Jalpaiguri railway station. However, it was later revealed that she did not actually file a complaint and instead, a group posing as railway police had approached her after the accident and asked her to sign a blank paper.
“A naive girl, without any knowledge, had her words twisted by being forced to sign something against her will. This is highly unacceptable,” Mr Deb said.