Just two days after a five-and-a-half-foot-long broken piece of track was found on the Panvel-Diva railway line near Kalamboli, a similar incident was reported on Wednesday.
At around 4 a.m., the motorman of a goods train found a seven-foot-long piece of an overhead equipment mast abandoned on the tracks of the Panvel-JNPT railway line at Kopra village in Panvel.
Senior Police Inspector Sunil Bajare of Panvel City Police Station said, “The train was moving at a slow pace and the motorman noticing the obstruction slammed the brakes in time.”
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Railway officials were informed about the incident and the mast was removed from the tracks. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Prakash Nilewad said, “Such incidents endanger many lives. This could be the work of local miscreants. We are doing our best to trace them. We have increased night patrolling near the railway tracks.”
A case against unidentified persons has been registered with Panvel City Police under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code for endangering life or personal safety of others and under Section 150 (1) (a) of The Railways Act for maliciously wrecking or attempting to wreck a train by putting or throwing upon or across any railways, any wood, stone or other matter or thing.
On Monday evening, accident was averted when an alert motorman slammed the brakes on finding something stuck beneath the wheels of the Pune-Santragachi Express.
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Sachin Bhalode, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Central Railway, said, “We cannot put officials on patrol all along the railway track as it is a huge stretch. But we will be keeping a close watch on suspicious activities and co-operate with the probe being conducted out by the Panvel City Police. We will know the motive only after the culprit is arrested.”