A Railway Engineer of Samastipur, allegedly sold off steam Engine
PURNIA: A Railway engineer of Samastipur Loco Diesel Shed allegedly sold off an abandoned steam engine lying at Purnia Court railway station in connivance with officials and security personnel, officials aware of the matter said
A First Information Report was registered on a complaint by the Purnia court railway station given to the Banmankhi RPF post. The FIR names seven people including the engineer and a security official posted at loco Diesel shed.
The railway protection force (RPF) has recovered one part of the engine from Purnia’s Gulabbagh area.
Divisional railway manager (DRM) Samastipur rail division Alok Agrawal, said engineer Rajiv Ranjan Jha, a security official and a helper have been placed under suspension. ‘We have ordered a probe,’ the DRM said
An official in the East Central Railways said the engineer sold the old steam engine on the basis of a forged letter claimed to have been issued by Samastipur’s divisional mechanical engineer (DME).
It is alleged that on December 14, the engineer reached Purnia Court railway station and ordered staffers to cut the engine with a gas cutter. When the outpost in-charge MM Rehman objected, he showed him a forged letter of DME Samastipur. He also said that the scrap from the engine will be sent back to the diesel shed.
Divisional security commissioner AK Lal said, ‘During preliminary investigation, the letter was found to be fake and the shed too denied issuance of such letter.’
The accused are yet to arrest by the Investigators, the man who bought the old engine as scrap.