Mumbra train accident: Bombay HC grants interim protection from arrest to two railway engineers

Mumbai, Nov 21 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to two Central Railway engineers, who are named as accused in the June 9 Mumbra train accident that claimed the lives of five passengers.

A single bench of Justice N R Borkar asked the police not to take any coercive action against the accused duo - Vishal Dolas and Samar Yadav - till December 9 when it will hear their pleas for anticipatory bail.

Dolas and Yadav had moved the HC after a Thane sessions court rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas.

On June 9, five commuters fell to death near the Mumbra railway station on the main line of the Central Railway.

The inquiry report by the Central Railway said that the deaths were caused due to overcrowding on the trains, as a protruding backpack of a commuter on one train brushed past the other train's passengers standing on the footboard.

But a technical inquiry by Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) later pointed to track geometry issues, unwelded joints, and cant discrepancies as contributing factors.

A case was registered earlier this month accusing the railway officials of ignoring caution orders and failing to rectify defects after heavy rains and maintenance workdays before the accident.

Investigators claim incomplete welding and reduced track clearance increased risk during high-speed crossings.

The duo in their pleas said the VJTI report was "assumption-based" and not binding.

The Thane sessions court had refused to accept their defence that the incident was a "mere accident". It rejected their plea noting that the tragedy, in which five commuters were killed and nine were injured, stemmed from "knowing default or omission" on the part of the accused railway engineers and other railway officials.

The sessions court said the accident was entirely preventable and occurred because authorities ignored broken tracks and poor maintenance despite knowing the route was packed during peak hours. It rejected the railway's backpack theory, noting there were no photographs or videos to support it and that commuters usually carry their bags in front, not protruding outward. PTI SP NP