Phagwara, February 2
In a ghastly mishap, five persons, including three members of a family, were killed when the Jammu-bound Jammu-Tawi-Hapa Express ploughed through a crowd of people at Santokhpura level crossing here today.Those killed included motorcyclist Vikas Agnihotri, his wife Monica and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Isha, a scooterist Hardip Singh and a rickshaw-puller, Rajan. While Vikas Agnihotri breathed his last in the local Civil Hospital, the other four died on the spot.
The mishap occurred seconds after the railway gateman opened the gate after the Dadar-bound Amritsar-Dadar Express left the crossing, not knowing or not informed that the Jammu-bound train was already on the way.
The Swaraj Express came roaring on the other track, following which the gateman allegedly downed the barrier, leading to the trapping of persons who were crossing the track, eyewitnesses said.
The train tossed away the motor cycle, the scooter and the rickshaw along with their occupants. Eyewitnesses said that after the train crossed the barrier, the gateman again opened it. The scene of the accident presented a gory sight with shreds of human flesh and blood strewn all around.
Punjab Social Welfare Minister Joginder Singh Mann, who visited the site, announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 each for the next of kin of the dead and Rs 25,000 for the man wounded in the accident.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepore Division, Mr Dharam Singh, has ordered a probe by a three-member panel.
— OC and PTI
