BHUBANESWAR: Tapaswini Express (18451) on Saturday passed a level crossing (LC) at Siddha Mahavir in Puri while its gates were in open condition. A video clip capturing this moment went viral on social media.After seeing this video and getting information from the officers of the local railway station, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has taken action against two of its employees for their negligence in duty.The incident happened at 7.25 am. Railway authorities got to know about this at around 11.30 am. Khurda Road divisional railway manager Braj Mohan Agarwal immediately constituted an inquiry committee comprising heads of four departments- safety, signal, electrical operations and general operations- to probe the matter.Inquiry committee's preliminary findings revealed that the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot stopped the train near the gate for around 2 minutes and then proceeded towards Puri station with the gate in open condition.They should have ensured that the gate was closed before proceeding towards Puri. “The gate is an interlocked gate, which means the gate is connected to a signal. This gate signal was in red condition, so that the gate was open. There is no problem with the gate signal,” said spokesperson of the ECoR.The loco pilot, Govind Sahu and assistant loco pilot, Umesh Kumar, have been suspended from duties till detailed final report of the committee comes. “Ideally, the loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot should have waited till the gate was closed. These are preliminary findings. We should wait for a detailed report,” said Agarwal.

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