Railway police personnel near the accident spot at Mumbra station. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Two senior Central Railway engineers have moved the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail after being named in an FIR over the June 9 Mumbra train accident that claimed five lives and injured nine passengers. The petition, filed by Assistant Divisional Engineer Vishal Suresh Dolas and Senior Section Engineer Samar Bahadur Yadav, challenges allegations of negligence in track maintenance and operational safety.
The incident occurred when two fast local trains, CSMT–Karjat (S-11) and Kasara–CSMT (N-10), crossed each other near Mumbra station around 9 a.m. Several passengers traveling on footboards fell onto the tracks, triggering a domino effect. Initial reports cited overcrowding and unsafe travel practices, but a technical inquiry by Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) later pointed to track geometry issues, unwelded joints, and cant discrepancies as contributing factors.
The FIR, registered on November 1 under sections 105, 125 (a), 125(b) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, accuses railway officials of ignoring caution orders and failing to rectify defects after heavy rains and maintenance workdays before the accident. Investigators claim incomplete welding and reduced track clearance increased risk during high-speed crossings.
In their plea, the applicants argue that the VJTI report is “assumption-based” and not binding, while an internal expert committee of senior railway officers found no lapses in track geometry or train operations. The petition argues that before the accident on June 9, 2025, 53 trains had already passed through the same tracks without any issues. After the incident, another 226 trains ran on the same section at the same speed, also without any problems. On that day alone, trains crossed each other at the exact spot of the mishap 37 times without any further rectification work being carried out.
“There were about 200 trains passed through the same railway tracks with the same speed limit and without any sort of further rectification works carried and also without any such mishap, which alone falsifies the allegations that the mishap occurred on that day was due to the non-attendance of the maintenance works by the Applicants and/or their senior officers,” the petition states, attributing the tragedy to overcrowding and footboard travel with protruding backpacks.
The engineers said they are technically qualified engineers and supervisors and duly trained as per the requirements of Railways Engineering Technology, and they have been working with Central Railways for the last 24 years. They have cooperated fully with the probe and custodial interrogation is unnecessary and said, “Though the alleged incident is dated 09.06.2025, the FIR has been lodged belatedly on 01.11.2025 almost after laps of five months. The police authorities had conducted a discreate inquiry with regards to the incident and had exchanged only several correspondences with the office of the Railways ranging between 09.06.2025 to 14.10.2025.”
Their earlier bail plea was rejected by a Thane sessions court on November 13. The High Court is expected to hear the matter later this week.
Published – November 21, 2025 05:15 am IST
