PURI/BHUBANESWAR: THE railway police on Saturday detained two persons in connection with Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express fire mishap in which three coaches were gutted at Puri railway station on Friday.
While a case has been registered with the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Puri on the basis of the complaint filed by the Railway Station Superintendent NK Nuskar, the two detainees are being interrogated.
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has formed a departmental committee to probe into the fire mishap. The three-member committee, headed by Puri Station Director BK Parija, visited the spot. Other members of the team comprise Assistant Security Commissioner, Railway Protection Force, (RPF) officer GC Naik and Assistant Mechanical Engineer NK Sahu.
A forensic and chemical team of Railways that has also examined the spot and damaged bogies will ascertain the exact cause behind the fire mishap.“As per the preliminary findings, the railway police have detained two persons in this connection. The probe team is verifying from different angles. A clear picture on the mishap will emerge soon,” said a railway official.
Sources said a massive fire broke out when the train was being cleaned at the station at about 12.50 pm. The fire is said to have originated from S4 coach and later spread to other adjacent coaches. While S4 was totally engulfed, two other compartments - S3 and S5 were partially damaged. Three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.
No loss of human life was reported as the bogies were empty. Commuters were left in a state of panic following the mishap. The train arrived from Hatia at 7.30 am and was parked on platform no.4.
Meanwhile, General Manager of ECoR has announced a special award of `50,000 for the Fire Services personnel, Puri unit in recognition of their swift action to control the fire in the three coaches.
They will be felicitated and awarded at a special function soon. The general manager also appreciated prompt and active action of GRP and RPF personnel who will also be awarded.On November 12, 2015 three express trains were set on fire on the platform. Suspecting involvement of terrorist, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) was entrusted with the investigation. The premiere investigating agency ruled out any terror act and the lone person arrested in the case was found to be a lunatic.