Railway suspends station master, traffic inspector and gateman

MOTIHARI: Samastipur DRM Arun Kumar Mallik and DCM M E Himayu after making on the spot inquiry of the place of accident at Chikanauta near Semra railway station on Monday night suspended level-crossing gateman Santosh Mallik , traffic inspector Rakesh Kumar Tripathi and station master of Semra station Sunil Kumar.
The DRM said the senior divisional operating manager will conduct a thorough inquiry in this accident.It may be recalled that 21 persons were killed as the Up Muzaffarpur-Deharadun Rapti Ganga Express train rammed into an auto when it was passing through a manned railway crossing that had been left open between Semra and Sugauli stations due to criminal negligence of the gateman on duty on Monday.
According to railway sources there are 56 manned railway crossing gates of 'C' grade between Muzaffarpur and Narkatiyaganj, which are not linked with the signal system with nearest stations. The drivers of the trains do not get red or green light of signal near crossing. The gateman after receiving telephonic information from nearest station closes the gate for passage of trains. This Chiknauta railway crossing number 159 is also under C grade crossing . According to eye witnesses, the said gateman was enjoying songs on his cell phone in his room and after the accident he ran towards Sugauli to save him.
The DRM and DCM said the mishap was a result of human error and the gateman is responsible for this tragic accident. MP Sanjay Kumar Jayaswal from Paschimi Champaran constituency also reached the site of the accident and said it was the fault of gateman and he will apprise the rail minister of the situation. Bajrangi Narayan Thakur , state vice president of RJD said the said gateman, Santosh Mallik, had joined as gateman in May 2014 and he was given duty on crossing gate without training of 45 days as per railway rule. He demanded an inquiry and said responsible officials should be punished .
He will file a case with the Human Rights Commission in this regard as 21 persons have lost their lives in this accident . Shivanand Tiwari, an ex-MP said it was worse than a massacre .