In a shocking turn of events at Bihta station in Patna district, a protester demanding the initiation of the Bihta-Aurangabad railway line project narrowly escaped tragedy as an express train passed over him. The incident unfolded when approximately 40 members of the Railway Sangharsh Samiti were staging a demonstration on the tracks, urging the commencement of the aforementioned railway project.
As the Lokmanya Tilak Express approached the station, most protesters swiftly vacated the tracks. However, their leader and convener, Chandan Kumar Verma, chose to remain lying on the railway tracks. Despite ten bogies of the express train passing over him, Verma miraculously survived the ordeal.
Following the passage of the train, Verma’s fellow demonstrators returned to confirm his well-being, relieved to find him unharmed. Subsequently, a fresh protest erupted against the East Central Railway management. The protesters demanded the dismissal of the train’s locomotive pilot, station master, and railway guard, alleging administrative negligence. They contended that the railway administration had been duly informed about the planned demonstration in advance.
In response to the situation, Additional Divisional Railway Manager Adhar Raj and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saraswati Chandra, along with other officials, arrived at the scene to pacify the agitators. The railway authorities successfully convinced the demonstrators to evacuate the tracks.
Danapur Divisional Railway Manager Jayant Kumar Choudhary declared the protest on the tracks a violation of railway rules and announced the intention to file an FIR against the demonstrators. The agitation disrupted the movement of at least three local MEMU trains for approximately three hours, from 1:45 pm to 4:15 pm, after which normal operations resumed on the route.
The long-pending Bihta-Aurangabad railway line project, initiated by former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2007, remains under survey. The subsequent detailed project report is expected in the next phase, emphasizing the significance of the railway line for the region.
