It will also present 169 witness accounts and 25 pieces of material evidence
The Government Railway Police (GRP) will cite about 169 witnesses and 25 pieces of material evidence in a charge sheet pertaining to the collision of two trains near Arakkonam in Vellore district on September 13, 2011, which left 11 passengers dead and more than 70 injured, police sources said on Thursday.
The GRP is expected to file a 600-page charge sheet in a Judicial Magistrate Court at Arakkonam on Friday.
Investigating officials said the prosecution mainly relied upon scientific evidence though statements were recorded from eyewitnesses, passengers and railway employees.
The incident pertains to the collision between the Chennai Beach-Vellore Cantonment Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit and the Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train near Chitheri railway station.
The speeding MEMU rammed into the rear of the passenger train that was moving at a slow speed.
A special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police V. Ponram that went into the details of the case found that negligence on the part of the MEMU driver led to the collision.
Investigation revealed that the driver was speaking on his mobile phone at the time of the accident and jumped the signal in red (danger). Moreover, the seized speedometer indicated that the MEMU was moving at high speed at the time of collision.
Though the police initially registered a case under section 304A (causing death due to negligence) of IPC, it was later altered to section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Though the driver A. Rajkumar initially denied having used his mobile phone while on duty and maintained that he did not cross the signal in danger, incoming/outgoing call details on his mobile phone revealed that he was speaking till a few minutes before the accident, the sources said.
“After examining railway officials, injured passengers and other members of the public, we perused material evidence. All facts pointed to wilful negligence on part of the MEMU driver. The report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety also coincided with our findings that it was a human error. This is not an accident…it is a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” Mr. Ponram told The Hindu on Thursday.
A time has come when the society has to understand that using cell phone while driving is a serious crime. If people do not understand this, the laws of the land should not hesitate to punish them. In this case, the driver is alleged to have used the cell phone whil on duty. I do not know if the cell phones are banned on the driver's cabin in the trains. I undersand that cell phones are banned in MTC buses. WHy not Railways also follow this, if not done already?
Model punishment need to be given to the driver for his negligence and deriliction of duty. All those passengers who are dead, injured, maimed and those who lost family members are eager to know how another similar incident does not occur. There is trust deposed on the driver by the passengers. The trust that the driver is healthy and conscious of his sacred duty to take them safely to destination. That trust need to be reinstalled. We need to give a clear message to all those who take the opportunity to serve community lightly. No leniancy should be shown on him.
It is indeed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, it
was not just recklessness, he can be attributed with the knowledge that
his act was likely to cause death. A man is presumed to know the
natural consequences of his act - is an adage respected in criminal
law.
It would not have been out of place to have provided the trains with ACD that is anti collusion devices or other automatic warning systems which provide for a safeguard against human negligence. While the Railway Officials are induling in corrupt practices and tug of war with regard to purchase of equipments, implementation of recommendation of safety organisation etc it would appear too simple to put the blame on the negligence of a single individual. What were to happen if the train was hijacked, or the driver was in a drunken state etc? That most of the drivers do not pass the alcoholic tests before they are cleared is an open secret. Cases of unauthorised operation of the locomotive controls have in the past been reported from as far as Jammu to Vyasarpadi in southern railway. So the crux of the matter is that in such a thickly saturated sections there are more than one means of preventing accidents. It is a strange thing that officials get off with good records and praises and put the work force on mat. This is the culture of the organisation. It is high time that cases of this sort were withdrawn and the process of procurement of atomatic warning and signalling equipments and Anti Collusion Devices outsourced to private consultants like say the Insidan Insitute of Technologies. People at the bottom bear the brunt and deliver whereas those in airconditioned chambers sit back make fortunes and goof up matters. A thorough probe into the accident should cover the overall circumstances in which the accident happened and whether the plans of the Railway Board were in place etc. Take the case of the Rockfort express or the case of a gangman preventing accident near tambaram ., .. in all such cases it is the lowest rung which bear the brunt. The Union Railway Minister should order an in-house probe and only then file a comprehensive charge sheet. To bail out the so called decison makers or rectifying the systems fault would only result in more such human errors happening. To take an extreme point even the crew-link has been only recently mechanised. And the little said about the conditions of Running Rooms, Railway Hospitals and Schools the better. Taking into account the situation in its entirety a management audit of the accident ought to be conducted first to plug the loopholes. Hope the learned judges and judicial officers will reflect on these lines.
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