Representative image of a railway signal.
Credit: iStock Photo
Ballia (UP): An FIR has been filed against unknown individuals for allegedly tampering with the railway signal by stuffing a piece of cloth into one of its lights at the Reoti railway station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, police said on Thursday.
The tampering of the eastern signal at the station, which is part of the Varanasi-Ballia-Chhapra section, came to light on Wednesday, they said.
According to railway sources, the Utsarg Express, travelling from Farrukhabad to Bihar’s Chhapra, arrived at the Reoti station on Wednesday morning and was ready to proceed further. However, the signal did not turn green, sources said.
When the train driver contacted the station master, it was discovered the signal had been turned green, but a piece of cloth had been stuffed into the signal's glass, preventing the green signal from being visible, they said.
The tampering resulted in a delay of five minutes at the station, RPF Ballia station in-charge DK Singh told PTI, adding that a case has been registered under Section 174 of the Railway Act based on the complaint of Railway Traffic Inspector (TI) Sanjay Singh.
On September 29, the engine of the Lucknow-Chhapra Express hit a stone placed on the railway track in the Varanasi-Ballia-Chhapra section. Although no damage was reported, a case was registered against unknown persons at the Bairia police station.