India 21 april2020. Two labourers, who had sat down to have breakfast on a railway track, were run over by an incoming freight train at around 8am on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district. The victims were walking back to their native villages in Surajpur district amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.
Police said the incident took place between Udalkachhar and Darritola railway stations under Koriya district.
City superintendent of police (CSP), Manendragarh, Karn Kumar Uike, said that the victims, Kaleshwar Rajwade (21) and Gulab Rajwade (20) along with two other workers started walking from Pendra-Marwahi-Gaurela district on Monday for their native villages in Surajpur district, located around 130km from Pendra, along the railway tracks.
“The workers decided to walk along the railway track, as no transport service was available due to the ongoing lockdown. They walked through Monday night and reached a spot between Udalkachhar and Darritola stations on the Anuppur-Ambikapur rail route, located around80km from Pendra. The victims were eating their breakfast on the railway track, while the other two workers had gone to fetch water. The victims didn’t see the incoming freight train because of a curve on the track. They were run over at around 8am on Tuesday,” said CSP Uike.
The other two workers informed the police and later the victims’ bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief over the workers’ death and instructed the district authorities to provide necessary assistance to the family members of the deceased.
