The railway derailment in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district – after a passenger train travelling at 75 km per hour rammed into a stationary goods train – was caused by a “mismatch between signal and route”, RN Singh, General Manager of Southern Railways, told NDTV Saturday morning.

The passenger train – the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express – should have been switched to the main line but “something wrong happened”, Mr Singh said. The train was inadvertently switched to a closed section of the track on which the goods train was parked.

It is too early to say exactly what happened, Mr Singh said, noting that signal had been set for the main line while the track switched the train to the closed loop.

“The train was headed to Gudur (in Andhra Pradesh). It stopped at Kavaraippettai Railway Station in Tiruvallur, where a goods train also headed to Gudur was on the loop line.” 

“It (the express) was given priority (and) was supposed to pass through the main line,” he explained, “But despite the signal clearance for the main line, the passenger train entered the loop line and hit the goods train from behind, leading to the engine derailment.”

Officials said the later reported a ‘heavy jerk’ before entering the loop line.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Drone visuals from Chennai-Guddur section between Ponneri- Kavarappettai railway stations (46 km from Chennai) of Chennai Division where Train no. 12578 Mysuru-Darbhanga Express had a rear collision with a goods train, yesterday evening.

12-13 coaches of… pic.twitter.com/QnKmyiSVY7

— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2024

The Railway Safety Commissioner will ascertain the exact reasons, he added.

The accident led to 12 coaches being derailed and 19 people injured; over 1,300 passengers were on the express train. A power car also caught fire.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Latest drone visuals from Chennai-Guddur section between Ponneri- Kavarappettai railway stations (46 km from Chennai) of Chennai Division where Train no. 12578 Mysuru-Darbhanga Express had a rear collision with a goods train, last evening.

12-13 coaches… pic.twitter.com/F7kp7bgLdV

— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2024

Fortunately no deaths have been reported so far and the injured are receiving treatment at state-run hospitals. The other – now stranded – passengers were taken via buses to state capital Chennai and accommodated on a special train to their respective destinations.

The derailment took place around 40 km from Chennai.

As a result of the derailment and ongoing repair work multiple trains have been cancelled or diverted; at least 18 trains scheduled for the day have been cancelled.

A high-level inquiry has been ordered, while Chief Minister MK Stalin has expressed shock and asked for rescue operations to be sped up.

Officials have said restoration could take up to 24 hours, i.e., till Saturday evening.

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Upset with her daughter’s love affair, Alka Devi, 42, hired a hitman to kill her daughter but ended up being murdered by him. In a shocking turn of events, Subhash, the hitman, turned out to be the daughter’s lover. In exchange for a marriage proposal, he murdered the woman. The incident came to light on October 6, when Alka’s body was found in a millet field under Jasrathpur police station of Etah district, Uttar Pradesh.

This tale of contract killing is not as modest as it appears to be. The number of characters will grow as each chapter unfolds. Sit tight.

Last week, on October 5, Alka Devi had gone to Etah to plead a case. When she didn’t return till late evening, Ramakant, her husband tried calling on her mobile but it was switched off. He looked around for his partner but all in vain until Sunday evening, when he got a call from the police, asking to identify a dead body.

Following identification, Alka’s body was sent for a postmortem and the widower Ramakant registered a case against two men – Akhilesh and Aniket – from his village, in Jasrathpur police station.

Reportedly, the duo is also accused of luring and kidnapping Alka’s daughter. Akhilesh was put behind bars by Naya Gaon police while the minor girl was safely rescued and sent to her family.

Alka Devi, probably scarred by the incident, sent her daughter to her maternal home in Sikandarpur Khas village of Farrukhabad district.

There the minor girl developed a relationship with 38-year-old Subhash, who, in the past, has served 10 years in jail. Subhash got her a mobile phone to talk.

Alka was tired and upset with her daughter’s love affair. That’s when she decided to get her killed. She offered Subhash Rs. 50,000 to execute the murder. Little did she know Subhash was the man her daughter was having an affair with.

Subhash disclosed the plan to the girl. Quick-witted, the girl offered to marry him if he killed the mother instead. Together, they strategised and staged pictures of the murder, fooling Alka. But when Alka didn’t pay the promised sum of Rs. 50,000, Subhash called her to Agra and visited her along with her daughter.

The trio travelled to Etah from Agra and went to Ramleela fair. From there, they got down before Aliganj and took Alka to Nagla Chandan where she was killed. The woman was strangled, according to the police. The daughter and her lover have been arrested.