Rajkot: A factory owner was killed when his car was rammed by a speeding train at a railway crossing near Gondal in Rajkot district on Sunday afternoon.
The railway staffer, who mans the railway crossing, was booked for gross negligence.
Police said the deceased, Sanjay Tilada (31), was driving his car through the crossing when the speeding Somnath-Jabalpur Express Train arrived and sped away after ramming Tilada’s car.
“Tilada’s car was dragged along the train for half a kilometre. Tilada was killed on the spot. It was gross negligence by the railway staffer, Ashok Savalia, who mans the railway crossing at Sandhiya Pull on the outskirts of Gondal. Savalia had apparently forgotten to close the railway crossing,” said S N Jadeja, inspector with Gondal city police station.
The police detained Savalia after booking him.
“We have handed over Savalia’s custody to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) which will conduct an inquiry into the incident, after which the RPF will transfer Savalia’s custody to us,” added Jadeja.
Due to the accident, the Somnath-Jabalpur Express Train got delayed by one hour. Tilada’s family members were very angry with Savalia. They said they would not accept Tilada’s body.
However, their anger subsided after Savalia was booked. Tilada was the owner of a ginning mill on Jetpur Road near Gondal.