Locals contest rlys’ claim, say gate ‘mitra’ was not present
We heard a sudden thunder, saw yellow ‘debris’ flying and falling 50 metres away
Locals and eyewitnesses on Friday refuted the Railways’ claim that the gate ‘mitra’ tried to raise an alarm on Thursday when a school van carrying 20 children was rammed into by a speeding train at an unmanned railway crossing.
Gate ‘mitras’ are locals hired and posted by the railways at unmanned railway crossings to warn vehicles of incoming trains.
Residents living in colonies situated as close as 10 metres from the site of the accident said the gate ‘mitra’ was not present at the time of the accident.
“It’s unfair on the railways’ part, as they are telling a lie. No gate mitra was present at the unmanned crossing at the time of the accident. We were eye witness to the incident,” said Kismat Ansari, a resident of Naukatola, 10 metres away from the site.
Ansari said they were outside their house when they heard a sudden thunder and saw yellow debris flying in the air and falling around 50 metres away. “We rushed to the track and saw students lying unconscious. We looked for the gate mitra or anyone else but found no one. We called the police and ambulance after which the rescue operation began,” said Zakir Hussain, another resident said.Hussain said gate mitra Arvind Kumar belonged to the neighbouring village. “Though his duty starts at 6 in the morning, he generally comes at 8am. In fact, on the day of the accident also, he was not present. The statements of railways and the gate mitra are just to mislead the people,” he added. Sanjay Yadav, chief public relations officer (CPRO), North-Eastern Railways (NER) said that according to the gate mitra’s statement, he tried to make the driver aware of the train.
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It’s unfair on the railways’ part, as they are telling a lie. No gate mitra was present at the unmanned crossing at the time of the accident
KISMAT ANSARI, Witness
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We rushed to the track and saw students lying unconscious. We looked for the gate mitra or anyone else but found no one.We called the police and ambulance after which the rescue began
ZAKIR HUSSAIN, resident