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Journalism of Courage
Murshidabad train accident: Arrested gateman was not drunk, test shows
Probe now focused on why railway crossing gate was left open when a train was approaching
The accident occurred during the morning rush hour on Friday (Screenshot from PTI video)
A breath analyser test has now revealed that the gateman arrested over Friday’s train accident in Murshidabad was not intoxicated, sources said Sunday. Three schoolchildren and a senior citizen died Friday when a train rammed a school van and a cyclist at a railway crossing between the Karnasubarna and Gobindapur stations under the Eastern Railway’s Howrah division.
Local authorities had initially claimed the gateman, Anup Karmakar, was under the influence of alcohol while on duty Friday morning. The gates of the railway crossing were left open when a local passenger train was approaching the crossing at a high speed, leading to the deadly accident.
However, after the breathalyser test report indicated that the gateman was not intoxicated, the focus of the investigation has shifted towards other potential causes as to why the gate of the manned level crossing was left open.
“A senior railway official has confirmed that the initial blood sample test returned negative for alcohol,” a source told The Indian Express.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had ordered an investigation into the accident, after which the gateman was immediately suspended and later arrested on charges of dereliction of duty.
Van driver’s statement awaited
The police are waiting for the medical clearance to record the van driver’s statement, which they believe will be vital in reconstructing the exact sequence of events leading up to the collision that took place Friday. The van driver was earlier in a critical condition, but has now stabilised, as per hospital authorities.
Despite alerts about the approaching train, the school van attempted to cross the tracks through the gate during the morning rush hour. The train rammed into the school van. Besides the four victims who died, several others sustained serious injuries in the accident. All of them are out of danger now, according to officials.
Awareness programme for rail employees
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The incident has cast a sharp spotlight on the Railways’ reliance on manual operations. According to the Railways, the Eastern Railway has 900 lock gates, of which around 60 are manually operated interlock gates. These gates require physical handling by staff — a factor that significantly increases the margin for human error or communication lag between stations and crossings.
The Eastern Railway has launched an awareness programme to ensure no such incident takes place again.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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