Five held for placing concrete slab on railway tracks

Five persons who opposed the ban on jallikattu, and placed concrete slab on railway tracks at Pallipalayam on January 13 were arrested on Monday night.

At 9.30 p.m. on January 13, the engine of train number 56101 Mettur Dam – Erode Passenger hit the concrete slab placed along the Anangoor – Cauvery Railway Station sector.

The train was stopped immediately by the loco pilot Anil Kumar.

But no damage was reported to the train and the journey continued after a delay of over 30 minutes.

Erode Railway Police registered a case under Section 150 (1) (a) (attempting to wreck a train by putting stone on railway track) of Indian Railways Act, 1989.

Inquiries revealed that M. Ranjith Kumar (23) of Korakattupallam in Pallipalayam, along with his four friends – M.S. Senthil Kumar alias ‘Kutti’ (32) of Govindampalayam, M. Santhana Krishnan (30) of Kadachanallur, K. Subramani alias ‘Suppi’ Subramani (30), and M. Mani alias ‘Tempo Mani’ alias ‘Thamba Mani’ (25) of Sathya Nagar – placed the slab on the tracks in an inebriated condition.

Later, they watched the train hitting the slab from a distance and ran away.