Kesinga: Condition of 15 patients, including a pregnant woman, on board Sambalpur-Rayagada bound Tapaswini Express train, turned critical after some hawkers stopped the train near the Akhri railway gate of Kandel Road station near Balsi village in Kalahandi district.
The hawkers sacrificed two goats as part of Durga puja rituals, a report said Tuesday. The hawkers peddling various goods in train sacrificed the animals as they presumed the train to be the representation of Hindu goddess Kali.
They garlanded and tied plantains on the train before conducting the animal sacrifice.
Over 21 hawkers forcibly stopped the train near the railway gate on the day of Dussehra to sacrifice the animals on the track.
They stopped the train for over an hour from 10 am to 11 am and sacrificed the animal while drinking liquor and dancing to the beat of drums, reports said. As a result, passengers, including the patients, were left stranded on the track and put to untold suffering.
The hawkers refused to listen to the pleadings of railway officials and passengers to allow the train to pass. The train finally left for its destination after the hawkers completed the sacrifice. Expressing shock over the way the train had been detained and passengers put to untold misery, observers have demanded action against those involved in the incident.
The pregnant woman was identified as the wife of a villager Debaraj Sahu of Belkhandi village under this block. She experienced labour pain and was being rushed in the train to Bisam Katak Hospital in Rayagada district for delivery.
The matter came to light after Sahu lodged a complaint with the Union railway minister through social networking site WhatsApp Tuesday.
Similarly, a few other patients who were travelling on the train for a health check-up and treatment in the hospital had a harrowing time as the train remained stranded for an hour. The patients were learnt to be from Kesinga town, Sirjapali, Utapala, Singari Bahali, Nunmath and Amath villages under the block.
However, no complaint has been lodged with the government railways police. When contacted, Titlagarh GRP IIC Mohan Nayak said he will conduct a probe and take action against the accused persons. PNN
