When a passenger hopped on board the S1 coach at 8.35 am on the Sanghamitra Express bound for Patna from the Krantivara Sangolli Rayanna railway station on platform one, he detected a strange object lying on the railway tracks. He immediately called out to two railway staffers carrying out some checks on the railway tracks within audible distance.
J Shivaji and T S Mohan went over to the spot between S1 and S2 coach where the palm-sized grey object was found. While Mohan went to touch it, his colleague cautioned him not to do so. They also called out to one junior engineer Sajeev R, who was examining the tracks 50 metre away, to take a look.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, 62-year-old Shivaji said, “I felt it was something dangerous. So, I tried calling up the Control Room of the Railway Protection Force repeatedly. Since it was engaged, I stood there while Mohan went in person to a security staffer holding a hand held detector at the entrance and brought him over to examine it. Meanwhile, many other RPF personnel arrived after being alerted by my colleague.”
Sajeev was all praise for the duo. “Shivaji had retired as a master craftsman from the railways. He was brought back into Railways to fill up the vacancies provided for retired staff. Mohan has over two decades of experience as a technical staff member. It was their alertness which led to the detection of the dangerous object. Over 2,500 passengers were on board the train,” he said.