Railway Staff Arrested in Surat for Sabotage

In Gujarat’s Surat district, three railway employees were arrested on Monday for allegedly tampering with railway tracks. They notified authorities about a “sabotage” attempt to claim credit for averting a potential train accident. Surat Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Hotesh Joysar reported that the accused are Subhash Poddar (39), Manish Mistry (28), and Shubham Jaiswal (26), who serve as trackmen in the railway maintenance department.

The police launched an investigation on September 21 after unidentified individuals allegedly tampered with a railway track by removing fish plates and loosening several bolts. SP Joysar explained that Poddar and others alerted authorities at 5:30 AM about “miscreants” removing elastic clips and fishplates from one set of tracks and placing them on another in an attempt to derail a train.

While on night duty, the accused sent a video of the compromised track to their seniors. Railway officials informed the police that a train had passed on the route just before the tampering was discovered.

The investigation revealed that the time interval between the tampering being detected and the passing of the train was minimal. SP Joysar stated, “We checked the mobile phones of the trio and found videos of the tampered tracks taken at different intervals, from 2:56 AM to 4:57 AM. Mistry had also deleted photos he had taken.”

The accused confessed to the crime after intense questioning, explaining that their motive was to ensure they would be felicitated and continue to be assigned night duties, which allowed them family time during the day. The idea originated from Poddar since their night duty for the monsoon season was nearing its end.

Police previously indicated that unidentified individuals had removed two fish plates joining two rails on the railway track and placed them on a parallel track, loosening about 40-50 bolts securing the track to the concrete sleepers.

A case was registered against the accused under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Railway Act, which carries penalties of life imprisonment and even the death penalty.

The police are also investigating potential links to terrorism and Naxalism concerning this incident.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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