Second station master turns himself in

V.K. Malviya, Assistant Station Master of Bhangala railway station, who was absconding since December 14, today surrendered before Chief Com...

V.K. Malviya, Assistant Station Master of Bhangala railway station, who was absconding since December 14, today surrendered before Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety CCRS, G.P. Garg.

Malviya turned himself in this morning at the railway resthouse where the CCRS was to hold his khula darbar in the evening. Face hidden in a blanket, Malviya told mediapersons that he had surrendered and was not arrested by the police. Later, he was taken into custody by the General Railway Police which did not allow anyone to meet him.

Malviya reportedly told the CCRS that he had followed 8216;8216;proper procedure8217;8217; while releasing the train DMU from his station at Bhangala after communicating with his counterpart at Mirthal station. 8216;8216;Maine to gaari theek chalayi thi, Mirthal se number lene ke baad I okayed the train as per procedure after taking the code number from Mirthal,8217;8217; he reportedly said.

The CCRS said the drivers were merely following orders. 8216;8216;The paper line clearance system was in place after their communication channel collapsed a few hours earlier. The system is nearly foolproof, if followed properly. Obviously, in this case, there was some mix-up,8217;8217; he said.

Garg said he would be presenting the preliminary findings by January-end, and the final report by March next year.

Meanwhile, the CCRS has also requested the GRP to let the commission record the statement of Babu Ram Lal, the other station master, but is yet to get a reply.

Garg said he had recorded the statements of around 20 people, including Malviya, and the two guards besides the gatemen on duty at crossings no 125 and 127, one of whom was an eyewitness of the accident. The findings so far have confirmed that the communication links between the Ferozepur railway division and the Bhangala station had broken down, and all communication was routed through the Mirthal station.

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The two stations were following the paper line clearance system since the signal cable was damaged. The CCRS said these systems were being used in many other parts of the world as well but he was quick to admit 8216;8216;there was a lot of scope for upgrading the systems.8217;8217;