Locals agitate after train knocks down cyclist

Kolkata: Train services in Howrah-Kharagpur section of South Eastern Railway was disrupted for nearly four hours after an irate mob put up rail blockade at Mecheda station as a youth was run over by a local train.

Locals alleged that the railway protection force did not attend the victim for nearly one hour. The victim might have survived if the RPF had taken the victim to the hospital on time. They alleged that the victim after being knocked down by a train remained alive for one and a half hours. He also asked for water from the RPF but was denied it.

State transport minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that one member from the victim's family would be given a job along with some financial assistance to the family. Following the incident, some of the Express trains got stuck following the agitation that continued for four hours.

A group of people blocked one of the tracks at Mecheda railway station in East Midnapur district for over four hours following the accident, disrupting train services, a South Eastern Railway official said. The blockade started at around 7.40 am after a cyclist was knocked down by Santragachi-Mecheda EMU Local on the tracks of platform no. 6.

According to police, the youth was knocked down by a local train while he was trying to cross the track with his bicycle. The train was entering the station when it knocked down the victim. As news of his death spread, hundreds of locals squatted on the tracks demanding a job for a member of the victim's family.

The locals accompanied by some passengers staged a demonstration with the body on the track protesting against the inaction of the railway authorities to save the victim. According to police, the victim has been identified as Akhlam Khan (38).

He was a resident of Purbabahal area in Kolaghat.

The demonstration was later lifted at around 12 pm following the intervention of the senior railway officials

"The situation was completely brought under control within a few hours and the trains started moving. But the trains including some long distance ones were running late due to the incident. There were also changes in the scheduled time of the trains," a senior railway official said.

Passengers got stuck in Howrah station due to the delay and lack of announcements.

Many passengers were faced inconvenience as they had been waiting for trains since Friday morning.

Passengers alleged that they were not properly informed as to why the trains were not running according to their schedule.

According to the sources at least 10 Up and Down mail and express trains and 19 sub-urban EMU and passenger trains had to be detained at various stations due to the incident.

The situation gradually became normal after the agitation was lifted.