Doon accident: Rly Minister says guilty won't be spared

Jaunpur, Jun 1: Prima facie ruling out that the derailment of the Doon Express was the handiwork of anti-social elements, Railway Minister

on Friday said the inquiry into the incident will be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and stern action would be taken against the guilty. The Minister, along with the senior officials, also visited the accident site. Five persons were killed while many were injured after several bogies of the

were derailed near Jaunpur in

on Thursday.

Roy visited the district hospital in the wee hours and inquired about the well-being of the passengers injured in the accident. He said the railways would bear expenses for the treatment of those seriously injured in the accident. During his visit to the accident site near Mahrawa Railway Station, about 70 km from Varanasi, he said the inquiry would be handed over to safety commissioner to find out the cause of the accident within seven days and stern action would be taken against the guilty. Roy added effective steps would be taken to check such incidents in the future.

Saying prima facie the accident is not the act of anti-social elements, the Railway Minister said it was a subject of inquiry.

Earlier, former Railway Minister and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded an inquiry into the derailment stating it should be probed whether it was an 'accident or an incident'. The minister said while an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh would be given to kin of passengers killed in the accident, Rs 1 lakh would be given to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries.

PTI