Paschim Express brushes past parked truck in Mumbai, 4 suspended

Mumbai, July 20 (IANS) The locomotive of Paschim Express brushed past a loaded truck which was apparently parked very close to the railway line near Kandivali station here on Monday afternoon, Western Railway (WR) officials said. No casualties were reported in the incident which occurred at 12.38 p.m. The train was subsequently halted at Kandivali station. Even as a potentially major accident appeared to have been averted, the railway police swung into action and apprehended truck driver Prakash S. Thoke, 57, seized the vehicle, lodged a case against him, said WR Chief Spokesperson Sumit Thakur. Besides, Kandivali Station Superintendents B.V. Samant and Vinod Dalvi, pointsman Bharat Solanki and Traffic Inspector M.S. Shaikh, have been suspended on various counts. Later, the locomotive was changed at Borivali and the train with passengers - part of the ongoing special services to different parts of India - departed on its onward journey to Amritsar after a delay of around two hours. The WR has also ordered an internal probe into the incident, said Thakur.
--IANS qn/vd