Man crushed to death by speeding train

The negligence of a gateman at a railway crossing resulted in the tragic death of a commuter, in Amritsar on Monday.

38-year-old Sushil Sharma, a resident of Shahid Udham Singh Nagar, was crushed under the Ambala-Amritsar Passenger train at the railway crossing at Joda Phatak at around 1:50 pm. Sharma, who was accompanied by his wife, was riding a motorcycle at the time of the incident. He was returning home after meeting one of his relatives in Dashmesh Nagar.

While it was time for the Ambala-Amritsar Passenger train to cross through, the gateman failed to close the gate. Thinking it to be safe to cross, Sharma did not see the approaching train and rammed into it. He was crushed to death under it. His wife, however, saw the train and jumped off the motorcycle minutes before the accident.

The anguished residents present at the spot bashed up the negligent gateman and staged a protest soon after. The angry protestors blocked the crossing for hours and did not allow any train to pass through. Sources said all trains, including the Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi, plying along Amritsar-Jalandhar-Ludhiana-Ambala route were stopped at their respective stations.

The protestors were joined by SAD leader Upkar Singh Sandhu and former mayor Sunil Dutti, who sought compensation for the family of the deceased and action against the railway officials for their negligence.

However, no case was registered in this regard till the filing of this report.