Rangapani train mishap: 6-yr-old girl of Malda succumbs to injuries, parents critical

Malda: The Kaliganj Village of Khempur Gram Panchayat (GP) under Chanchal Police Station mourned the death of a six-year-old girl from the area on Tuesday morning who succumbed to her injuries in the train mishap of Rangapani on Monday. The parents of the deceased girl are also admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in critical condition.

Mohilal Mondal, a school teacher, his wife Chabi who is a TMC GP member and their only six-year-old daughter Sneha Mondal recently visited North Bengal. They were returning home by Kanchanjungha Express train on Monday. All of them were admitted to the NBMCH in a critical condition where Sneha breathed her last in the early hours of Tuesday.

Sujit Mandal, uncle of the deceased girl, said: “From the very beginning, the child was critical and all our prayers have gone in vain.

Now we are looking forward to the safe return of her parents.”On the other hand, a total of 6 persons from Malda are still injured and are under treatment at NBMCH. On Monday night at the arrival of Kanchanjungha Express in Malda, seven Railways doctors and over 50 medical assistants attended passengers in each coach.

As many as 20 RPF personnel (one per coach) were also deployed by the Malda Railway Division to address security concerns.

Almost 1,300 food packets with drinking water were distributed among the survivors in the train. 1GS and 1 SLR coaches were also attached to the train as advised by North Frontier Railways.

Vikas Chaube, DRM Malda, himself talked to the passengers and enquired about their needs, if any.

Pallabi Mukherjee, a survivor of the accident who was going to Murarai in Birbhum, said: “Our body is still shaking in fear and it’s God’s grace that we are still alive. It’s very unfortunate that some of our co-passengers, including the Railway employees, died in the accident.”