"Sandeep wanted to take picture of his vintage jeep in the ‘exotic’ location"
--------------------------------------------------
A Bengaluru-based techie’s attempt to take a picture of his vintage jeep in an “exotic” location — on the railway track — landed him in police custody and delayed the Kannur-Karwar-Bengaluru Express by more than an hour on Saturday.
Early in the morning, Sandeep of Kothanur in Bengaluru and his wife Pratibha went on a ride on their 1966 model Willys. Sandeep parked it on the track to take pictures, close to Basavanapura in the Ramanagaram district, about 35 km from Bengaluru, Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources said.
At 7.25 a.m., the train, with at least 700 passengers travelling from Mysuru to Bengaluru, came on the track, even as the couple watched. The shocked loco pilot, who spotted the jeep, applied the brakes but the train stopped only after hitting the jeep. The train had just left the Ramanagaram station and was travelling at less than 50 km per hour.
The incident suspended the train movement on both the tracks between Bengaluru and Mysuru, for nearly 50 minutes. RPF personnel said they arrested Sandeep on charges of “endangering the safety of train passengers.”
The accused told the police that it was “an accident” and his intention was not to park the vehicle on the track but only off the road. He said he was unable to move the jeep from the track. However, the police pointed out that the distance between the highway and the tracks was around 30 metres.
The couple fled from the scene immediately after the accident, but surrendered to the RPF personnel later.
A first information report was filed under Sections 147 (Trespass and refusal to desist from trespass), 153 (Endangering safety of persons travelling by railway by wilful act or omission), 154 (Endangering safety of persons travelling by railway by rash or negligent act), 159 (Disobedience to directions of railway servant) and 174 (Obstructing running of train) of The Railways Act, 1989.
--------------------------------------------------
Source :
click hereNewspaper : The Hindu E-Paper
guest
