Tank collapse at Burdwan station: Negligence FIR registered against railways
Memari resident Abdul Mofiz Sheikh, husband of Mofiza Khatun who died in the incident, had filed the initial negligence complaint.
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The debris from Wednesday’s incident was removed on a wartime basis from Burdwan station, and normal train movement was restored. (Express Photo: Parha Paul)A day after three persons, including a woman, were killed as an overhead water tank collapsed on a platform of Burdwan railway station, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered an FIR against the Railways for negligence.
The FIR has been registered on a complaint filed by the husband of the deceased woman. Mafuja Khatun (35) of Lakuddi, Purba Bardhaman, was among the three killed. The other two were identified as Sonaram Tudu (19), a resident of Pakur in Jharkhand; and Kranti Kumar (17) of Sahebgunj in Purba Bardhaman.
Sources in the GRP said that while the investigation has begun, no one has been arrested yet.
Meanwhile, Burdwan Medical College Hospital Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said that all the 39 injured in the tank collapse were stable.
On Wednesday around 12.30 pm, an overhead water tank collapsed over awaiting passengers on platforms 2 and 3 at the railway station. Just before the tank collapsed, there were a lot of people on the two platforms as a local train was scheduled to arrive.
Sources in the police said that prima facie, the water tank collapsed due to poor maintenance. “The water tank was made of corrugated metal sheets. It should have been properly maintained. There would have been more fatalities had the tank been made of concrete,” a senior police officer had said.
Meanwhile, the debris from the Wednesday incident was removed and railways said that all trains — local, mail, and express — were plying through platform number 2 of the station.
“Even after the accident, the railway administration is negligent. The part of the structure is still there. Where is the guarantee that it won’t collapse again,” said Rana Seth, a daily commuter.
On Wednesday, the railways had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 and Rs 5,000 each to those who suffered serious and mild injuries, respectively.
A three-member committee was also formed by the railways to investigate the cause of the accident.
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