A railway employee was killed after he was caught between the buffers of a train engine and a coach during a shunting operation at Barauni Junction station in Bihar’s Begusarai district on Saturday (November 9, 2024), officials said.
A buffer is a shock-absorbing device on both ends of a train’s engine and coach, designed to reduce the impact of collisions between coaches.
An official of the East Central Railway said the guidelines for such an operation must have been violated leading to this “unfortunate incident” and an inquiry had been ordered.
The deceased was identified as Amar Kumar (25), a resident of Samastipur district.
Kumar’s family alleged that he died because of the negligence of the railway staff.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place during the shunting of Lucknow Junction-Barauni Express at platform number 5.
Kumar was caught between the buffers of the engine and a coach and died.
A video clip of the man’s body stuck between the buffers went viral on social media.
Family protests
His family members reached the spot and said they would not allow the authorities to conduct a post-mortem examination till action was taken against erring railway staff.
The matter was resolved after Vivek Bhushan Sood, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Sonpur division, reached the spot and pacified the agitated family members.
Sharswati Chandra, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) of East Central Railway, told PTI that the incident took place at Barauni station in the morning.
“It is a very unfortunate incident and at the same time a matter of concern. The set guidelines for such an operation must have been violated,” the officer said.
“A high-level enquiry had been ordered to find out the reason behind the incident and strict action would be taken against erring railway employees after the completion of the probe,” the CPRO said.
Published – November 10, 2024 12:10 am IST