Gujarat Sabotage Attempt: Two Arrested For Placing Iron Slab On Railway Track To Derail Train And Loot Passengers

Gujarat police have arrested two individuals for attempting to sabotage a passenger train by placing an iron slab on the tracks in Botad district. According to officials, the suspects intended to rob passengers after causing the train to derail or stop.

The incident took place around 3 am on 25 September near Kundli village. Fortunately, a major disaster was avoided as the train did not derail after hitting a four-foot-long piece of old rail.

"The Okha-Bhavnagar passenger train (19210) passing through Ranpur police station limits in Botad district hit an iron slab placed on the track next to cement sleepers around 3 am," Botad Superintendent of Police (SP) Kishor Baloliya said.

"The train hit the piece of iron rail placed in a standing position in the middle of the track, following which it was halted there for several hours," he added. The two accused Ramesh and Jayesh were arrested later.

These arrests come a day after the arrest of three railway employees in Surat on Monday for allegedly tampering with tracks and fabricating a sabotage threat to gain recognition, Hindustan Times reported.

The employees had alerted railway authorities about "miscreants" removing elastic clips and two fishplates from one set of tracks and placing them on another in an attempt to derail a train.

Officials revealed that the employees orchestrated the act in hopes of being praised and reassigned to night duty, allowing them to spend more time with their families during the day.