A 32-year-old man has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur district for allegedly attempting to derail the Patal Express by placing iron rods on the railway track.
The suspect, identified as Satyam Yadav, has been taken into custody on Saturday after police linked him to the near-disastrous incident that occurred on Thursday night.
The train’s loco pilot averted what could have been a serious accident when sparks from the engine alerted him to an obstruction on the tracks near the Delwara railway station.
Yadav allegedly placed the iron rods in a panic after realising the train was approaching.
The Lalitpur Superintendent of Police, Md Mustaque, confirmed the arrest on Saturday.
"The station master of Delwara railway station lodged a complaint, stating an unknown person had tried to derail a train by placing iron rods on the track. Following this, the police began an investigation which led to Yadav's arrest," he said.
On the night of October 3, Patal Express (Train No. 12624) was moving through the Delwara railway station area when the loco pilot was alerted by a gateman about the sparks coming from the engine, which had snagged on the iron rods Yadav had left behind.
The train was immediately stopped, preventing a major accident.
Yadav, during interrogation, admitted to being near the tracks that night, having stolen iron rods from a storage area where railway materials were kept. "He was walking on the railway track when he heard the train approaching.
In a panic, he threw the rods on the tracks and fled," the SP added. Stolen iron rods were recovered from Yadav's residence following a police raid.
This incident is the latest in a series of derailment attempts reported in Uttar Pradesh in recent weeks. Last month, a concrete stone was found on the Varanasi-Ballia-Chhapra railway section, forcing an emergency stop by the driver.
Similarly, a 16-year-old boy was detained for placing a fencing pillar on the Banda-Mahoba rail line, again necessitating quick action from the train’s driver to prevent an accident.
On September 22, police arrested two individuals for attempting to derail the Naini Jan Shatabdi Express by placing an iron pole on the tracks near the Bilaspur Road and Rudrapur City railway stations.
And on September 8, the Kalindi Express narrowly avoided disaster when it struck an LPG cylinder deliberately placed on its route, though the train managed to halt just in time.
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