A potential train accident was averted after the driver of the Naini Jan Shatabdi Express discovered an iron pole placed across the tracks near Uttarakhand's Rudrapur and applied the emergency brakes on time.
The incident occurred on Wednesday near the Rudrapur City Railway Station, around 43 kilometres from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, Railway officials said, adding that it could be a sabotage.
"On September 18 at 10.18 pm, the loco pilot of train number 12091 reported to Station Master/Rudrapur City that he found one 6-metre-long iron pole on track between Bilaspur Road and Rudrapur City," a spokesperson from the Railway Ministry said, according to PTI.
An FIR was lodged on the complaint of Rudrapur City Section Railway Engineer Rajendra Kumar at the GRP Police Station Rampur under sections of the Railways Act 1989 against unnamed people.
"On seeing the electric pole, the loco pilot applied emergency brakes and stopped the train and after removing the pole the train resumed its journey," the FIR read.
Personnel from Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and police outpost arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation.
Recently, there have been similar such instances in which obstructions in the form of gas cylinders, boulders or broken rails have been placed on the railway tracks with an intent to cause damage to train operations.
Last month in Farrukhabad, a passenger train was stopped on the Kasganj-Farrukhabad railway track near the Bhatasa Railway Station after its engine hit a log placed on the tracks. Earlier, in Kanpur an FIR was lodged for suspected sabotage in the derailment of 20 coaches of a passenger train.
The divisions have lodged FIRs in these cases and investigations are going on to trace the anti-social elements and prosecute them.