The death toll in the tragic incident at Karnasubarna in West Bengal's Murshidabad district earlier in the day, when a train collided with a van at a railway crossing, has risen to five, with four being school children and one an adult. Meanwhile, both the Railways department and the West Bengal government have announced compensation for the families of the deceased individuals.
Some other schoolchildren and the driver of the van are currently under treatment at Baharampur Medical College and Hospital. While the Railways have announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each family, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced Rs 5,00,000 to the kin of each deceased.
The CM, on social media, said that he has directed the administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured and affected families. “Minister Gouri Sankar Ghosh has already visited the Hospital and is monitoring the situation. District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police are already on site since morning and personally supervising the operations,” the Chief Minister said in his social media post.
He also gave an assurance that the best medical care is being provided to those undergoing treatment and added that the state Health Minister, Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, is personally ensuring that the injured receive the best possible treatment at the medical college and hospital where they are admitted.
“Negligence will not be tolerated. The railway gateman has already been arrested by the state police. A thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident will be conducted, and I assure the people of West Bengal that the strictest possible action will be taken against those found responsible,” the Chief Minister added.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that gross negligence on the part of the accused gateman was the reason for the accident. The accused gateman, who was in an inebriated state, ignored his duty of closing the rail gate, even though he was informed that the Nimtita-Katwa local train was coming in high speed over the down line.
Since he did not shut the rail gate, the driver of the school van, unaware of the oncoming train, tried to cross the railway line. Just then, the train directly hit the school van, leading to the death of five, including four schoolchildren. The Railways have immediately suspended the said gateman on charges of serious negligence of duty. Later, he was arrested by the police.