Three persons have been detained, including two railway employees and a contract worker, over an attempt to derail the Surat-Kim train on September 21.

The railway employees are Subhash Podar and Manish Mistry, while the contract worked has been identified as Shubham Jaiswal.

The National Investigation Agency, which began probing the incident, first suspected Podar. During separate interrogations of the three suspects, the conspiracy was uncovered. The accused have been taken to court for remand.

It was revealed that the conspiracy to derail the train was orchestrated by railway employees themselves. Podar claimed he was the first to witness the incident during patrolling and allegedly created the entire scheme for an award and promotion.

Kim conspiracy

On September 21, an attempt was made to derail the train as fishplates and keys of the railway tracks were found removed.

Initially, suspicion fell on the railway employee Podar who witnessed the incident. This was because only a knowledgeable and experienced individual could have removed 71 ERS padlocks and 2 fish plates in such a short time.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Podar concocted this scheme for an award and promotion. 

Podar, who was patrolling, claimed that he noticed the movements of three unknown individuals on the railway track around 5.30 am.

Following this, a significant search operation was launched, involving various agencies and 140 personnel who scoured the area.

Various agencies, including National Investigation Agency, Anti-Terrorism Squad, Special Operation Group, Railway Police, Local Crime Branch, Surat police, and Railway Protection Force (RPF), along with dog squads, began investigating the case.

Also read:

Gujarat passengers affected by goods train derailment near Palghar, 98 trains affected