Panic over fire rumour 6 hospitalised after jumping from train in UP

Six passengers were hospitalised after they jumped out of a moving train in panic near Uttar Pradesh’s Bilpur on Sunday following rumours of a fire, Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said.

Earlier, Northern Railway spokesperson Kultar Singh had said that “12 passengers have been injured”.

The incident took place in a general coach of the Howrah-Amritsar Mail in the morning near Bilpur station, which falls under the Moradabad division, he said.

GRP station in-charge Rehan Khan told PTI that when the train reached Bilpur station in Bareilly, a rumour spread that the train has caught fire.

Someone pulled the emergency chain to stop the train and some passengers started jumping from the moving train, he said.

Six passengers, including two women, were injured, and they were admitted to the Shahjahanpur Medical College, the GRP official said.
Khan said Anwari (26), Akhtari (45), Kuldeep (26), Ruby Lal (50), Shiv Sharan (40) and Chandrapal (35) were hospitalised.

The railway official had earlier said passengers pulled the chain for an emergency stop and jumped out of the train in panic while it was still moving.

“Prima facie, it looks like some miscreants or unruly passenger operated a fire extinguisher which created an impression that a fire had broken out in the general coach of the moving Howrah-Amritsar Mail,” he had said

Singh had said that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is investigating the case.