UP: 25-ft iron rod found on Pilibhit-Bareilly railway track

Pilibhit (UP), Nov 24 (PTI) An FIR has been registered against unknown persons after the police along with railway staff recovered a 25-foot long iron rod from the Pilibhit-Bareilly railway track under the Jahanabad police station area, officials said on Sunday.

Circle Officer (City) Deepak Chaturvedi told reporters that at 9:20 pm on November 22, an iron rod of about 12 mm diameter measuring 25 feet was found on the railway track near Lalouri Kheda, forcing train No. 05312 between Pilibhit and Bareilly to stop there for about four minutes after its engine hit the object.

Teams from police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) visited the spot to probe the matter, Chaturvedi said.

Netra Pal Singh, a senior section engineer in the Railways, said the iron rod was placed on the track near the railway crossing between Jehanabad and Shahi railway stations.

Singh also described the act as a "deliberate conspiracy" to harm the train and its passengers.

According to the police, the iron rod was taken from an underpass being demolished by the Railways near the Jahanabad crossing, about 2 km from the tracks where it was found. The police suspect that it may have been placed on the track to cut it as it was quite long.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, a complaint has been lodged with the police against unknown persons, he added.

The police are scanning the CCTV footage from the nearby areas to find any clue.

Following the incident, officials have appealed to the people to remain alert about suspicious activities near railway tracks.

A spate of similar incidents have been reported from Uttar Pradesh in recent times, which have become a cause for worry for the authorities.

On October 6, a passenger train was briefly halted after the loco pilot saw a pile of soil dumped on the tracks near the Raghuraj Singh railway station in Raebareli.

On October 2, a fire extinguisher belonging to the Railways was spotted on the tracks by the loco pilot of a goods train who applied breaks on time near the Ambiyapur railway station in Kanpur Dehat district.

An empty gas cylinder was spotted on the tracks on September 22 by a goods train loco pilot, who applied emergency brakes and stopped the train near Prempur railway station in Kanpur.

A similar incident was reported on September 8 when an attempt was made to derail the Kalindi Express heading towards Bhiwani from Prayagraj by placing an LPG cylinder on the tracks. PTI