Court staff tries to confiscate train at Tumkur

High drama prevailed at the Tumkur railway station near here on Friday evening when the staff of a local court tried to confiscate a train as the Railways had failed to honour the court’s order on payment of compensation to the victims of a train mishap.

Armed with the court’s orders on attachment of the Bangalore-Hubli Intercity Express, the court staff and the lawyers representing the relatives of the victims marched to the railway platform and tried to seize the Intercity Express, much to the bemusement of the passengers on the train. The train was held up for more than half an hour as the lawyers and railway officials were locked in negotiations.

The court had ordered the attachment of not only the Intercity Express, but also the computers at the Tumkur railway station, situated at a distance of about 70 kms from Bangalore.

The Tumkur police and the Railway police had a tough time controlling a large crowd that had gathered to witness perhaps the first instance of a train being confiscated.

The compensation ordered by the court pertained to an accident that took place during May 1998 when six persons including three women travelling in an autorickshaw were killed in a collision with a locomotive at a manned level crossing near Tumkur. Holding the railway personnel responsible for the negligence, which led to the death of six persons, the Additional Civil Court and Accident Relief Court in Tumkur had ordered payment of compensation of Rs 600,000 to the next of kin of each of the victims.

Though the order stipulating payment of compensation had been awarded in July 2006, the Railways had not bothered to make the payment. When the Railway authorities did not respond to the notices served on them, the court ordered the seizure of the train and the computers in the railway station.

The Station Master and Railway officials at the Tumkur Railway station requested the court staff and the lawyers to give them two days time to settle the matter. The train was allowed to pass after the lawyer agreed to give the railway officials two days time keeping in mind the inconvenience the confiscation would cause to the passengers.

Before returning, the court staff and the lawyer threatened to go ahead and confiscate the train if the compensation amount is not paid by Monday.