Bangalore : The Bangalore-Nanded Express that went up in flames on Saturday killing 26 people has thrown up a mystery. The train ticket examiner (TTE) of the AC coach, which caught fire, has gone missing. The South Central Railway says B N Mohan, the TTE, is alive, but he has not turned up so far to give evidence.
What has added more twists to the mystery is that the fire seems to have started from under his seat.
Investigations have also revealed that if there was a short circuit, fire should have emanated from the AC ducts on the rooftop. “The AC is on the top and we should have noticed the fire there. However, a few eye witnesses said the fire was noticed inside the coach below a seat,” Anil Kumar Agarwal, divisional railway manager, Bangalore, told the media.
Authorities probing the blaze that occurred in Kothacheruvu in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, said that Mohan was assigned berth No 7 in the ill-fated B1 compartment.
Initial investigations say that the fire had originated from under this berth. Experts have detected a hole under berth No 7, and it is suspected to be the result of an explosion or a combustible material.
And there is yet another twist. While Mohan escaped, passengers who had occupied berths No 6 and 8, Eshwar Nagare and Jui Nagare, father and son from Aurangabad, perished in the fire and their charred bodies were recovered.
Said Agarwal, “He is very much alive. But we have not been able to trace him. His mobile phone is switched off. In fact, the police and the forensic personnel both have been trying to get his statement, as he will be able to narrate the incident as an eyewitness. But even they have been unable to reach trace him.”
Railway sources said Mohan had recorded a statement with the Commissioner for Railway Safety in Bangalore and had stated that it was he who tried opening the door after the fire was noticed. But after that he went missing. Agarwal said the forensic experts would take 15-20 days to give the report. Till then nothing can be said.
R S Menon
