A group of teenagers was arrested for placing rocks on a railway track in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district. The rocks on the tracks triggered panic on Wednesday morning.
The incident came to light after the Tea Garden Express, running between Ernakulam and Karaikal, passed through the area. Authorities suspect the gang also pelted stones shortly after the train crossed, raising serious safety concerns.
The Railway Protection Force, which rushed to the spot, found rocks deliberately placed on the tracks. Officials said they took the issue seriously, especially since there have been earlier reports of bolts being removed at a track-changing point nearby.
Using CCTV footage, police identified and arrested five youths, Dinesh Karan, Jegadeesan, Sarathy, Prathap, and a minor. All of them were reportedly working part-time at a private courier company.
A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Railways Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
On April 25, 2025, a potential disaster was averted near Chennai when officials discovered that multiple bolts had been removed from a track-changing mechanism on the fast UP line, used by trains heading towards the main terminus.
During a routine inspection at 1.15 am, a railway official noticed missing critical nuts and bolts from the point machine — a device that controls track alignment — near Thiruvalangadu railway station. This area in northern Tamil Nadu is part of the Chennai-Arakkonam-Bengaluru railway corridor, a crucial and busy route.
Officials suspect that the bolts were deliberately removed by miscreants, as such displacements are not typical during regular operations.