CHENNAI: The Railway Claims Tribunal, Chennai bench, on Friday, took suo motu action and ordered compensation for victims of St Thomas Mount station accident. Said to be the first order of its kind when the compensation has been ordered by Railways without a formal application by the families of the victims, the tribunal directed `8 lakh to be deposited for each of the four persons who lost their lives in the accident and `2 lakh for each of the five persons who were injured, according to a tribunal release. However, on Thursday, an 18-year-old Sreevatsan succumbed to injuries.
“The tribunal had also ordered release of `2 lakhs in each of the cases of death and `50,000 each in cases of injuries from the amount deposited, which will be adjusted against the final outcome when the full particulars are gathered,” the release said. It observed that there was hardly any scope for denying liability.