Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram: Two drunkards who placed a log on the railway track was arrested after a concerted effort by the police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) soon after the dangerous prank.
The Railway Protection Force arrested Edava native Sajid, 27, and Kappil native Biju, 30, hours after they put a trunk of a coconut tree on the railway track at Parayil area between Edava and Kappil railway stations in Thiruvananthapuram district on Sunday.
The Chennai-Guruvayur train, which arrived by 12.50 am, did hit the 1.5-metre-long log but an accident was averted as the train was immediately stopped.
The train continued with its journey after the log was removed. The Railway Protection Force was immediately informed and the log was taken to the RPF post at Kollam.
Tracking the culprits
A special investigation team led by inspector Rajani Nair and railway police DySP, Ernakulam, KS Prasanth arrived at the spot during the wee hours of the day.
Based on the information provided by over 100 people in the locality and the railway staff, the culprits were nabbed.
The duo were sitting near the railway track and drinking alcohol, and subsequently kept the log on the track, according to the statements of the eyewitnesses.
About a month ago, the Malabar Express had caught fire near this spot.
The RPF filed the case as per the Railways Act. Sajid and Biju were taken to the spot for evidence gathering on Sunday evening.
Thiruvananthapuram railway police sub-inspector Ithihas Thaha, Kollam railway police-grade sub-inspector Manoj Kumar, RPF SI Beena, and SI P Gopalakrishnan were also part of the special team.
