Mahakaushal Express derailment: Probe reasons behind accident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath tells officials
According to initial investigations, the incident was caused by a weld failure on tracks.
Hours after Mahakaushal Express got derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district on Thursday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to investigate what cause the accident that left 52 people injured, PTI reported. The chief minister’s directions came in view of the recent “suspicious incidents” involving train derailments in UP, according to a statement released by the state government.
Meanwhile, initial investigations conducted by the railways have shown that the derailment was caused by a fresh weld failure on the tracks, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said. The anti-terror squad will be part of the investigation, state Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh told Hindustan Times, adding that the National Investigation Agency along with UP Police will conduct the probe.
At 2 am on Thursday, eight coaches of the Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Mahakaushal Express got derailed near Mahoba. As many as six trains had to be cancelled and eight were diverted after the incident. Fifteen passenger trains, 20 ambulances and an accident relief train were deployed at the accident site.
Earlier in the day, Siddharth Nath Singh had announced compensation of Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for passengers with minor injuries.
In January, at least 36 people had died after the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express got derailed. The incident had followed the derailment of the Ajmer-Sealdah Express and the Patna-Indore Express mishap last year. The NIA is looking into the possibility that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence played a role in the Patna-Indore Express derailment, which claimed at least 145 lives.