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RAILWAYS SECURITY

corded all-time high HIGHER OUTGO OF WORKING and other sources. As a result mid strong op- TWO HuJI OPERATIVES sion report was tabled in the
ndian Railways re-
Vidhan Sabha after it was
of merger of Railways budget
position from
Operating Ratio of 111.51 with the General Budget since Human Rights submitted to the Samajwadi
per cent during the EXPENDITURE COSTS 2017-18, Railways escaped activists, a special GET LIFE TERM IN UP Party government.
I first four months of the dedicated media focus and A court in Lucknow Government lawyers
current financial year ending INDIAN RAILWAYS DEAR for that matter public scrutiny convicted two accused Tariq COURT’S BLAST CASE Pravin Srivastav and MK
July 30, 2018. This means the of its overall functioning Qasmi and Mohammad Singh said that the accused
railways spent rupees 111.51 altogether, the casualty being Akhtar alias Tariq Hussain for had been charged for sedition,
to earn rupees one hundred The financial crisis in the Indian Railways calls for the impugned report on its life imprisonment in con- Even as Tariq Qasmi and Mohammad Akhtar have criminal conspiracy and at-
during the period, making the financial status from public nection with 2007 court blast tempt to murder which were
behemoth public transporter proper use of investments by the Centre to main- notice. That is how Indian case in the state capital and been awarded life term, the UP Police are yet to offences under the Indian
financially most unviable. This tain a balance between commercial status and Railways have lost its sheen imposed a heavy fine of 5.21 make any arrest in the Varanasi court Penal Code. Three witnesses
reflects the shortfall in the es- in public glare. It comes on lakh on them. have been examined from the
timated passenger and freight social responsibility, reports MY SIDDIQUI the fore in public domain only The judgment pronounced blast case, reports TEHELKA BUREAU 44 witnesses produced in this
traffic targets with a higher when accidents take place by Special Judge Babita Rani, case before the District Jail in
outgo of working expenditure above 92 years on year basis Board maintains that every with heavy casualties on August 23, held the HuJI Lucknow where the trial was
including pension payout. in the recent past. For 2018-19, time Pay Commission comes, operatives, Qasmi and Akhtar, going on.
During the period, the rail- Operating Ratio is estimated Operating Ratio, indicator guilty under the Explosive On December 22, 2007,
ways earned 17,273.37 crores at 92.8 per cent against 96 of financial health of Indian Railway Board Substances Act, the Preven- Tariq Qasmi was arrested
from passenger traffic against per cent in 2017-18. Railways Railways, is on the higher side. maintains that tion of Unlawful Activities
the target of 17,736.09 crores, are pinning high hopes on Operating Ratio is the ratio of Act and sedition, criminal On November 23,
indicating heavy losses in pas- freight earnings with targeted working expenditure, arising every time Pay conspiracy and attempted
senger earnings. Passenger incremental freight traffic of from day to day operations, to Commission murder under IPC. Both the 2007, 13 people
services are cross-subsidised 51 million tones in the current revenue earned from traffic. accused have already com- lost their lives
by earnings from freight traf- fiscal year 2018-19. Last quar- It increases beyond the target comes, pleted jail terms of 11 years.
fic. Freight traffic performed ter of the financial year helps that recovers generally by the Operating Ratio The third alias in this case, when a series
below the target at 36, 480.41 railways pick up freight traffic, end of the financial year. Sajjadur Rehman, was given a of RDX bombs
crores against the target of giving hopes that the freight Earlier, a report on finan- gets on the clean chit by the court. While,
39, 253.41 crores. Total earn- target will be achieved. cial status of Indian Railways, the fourth accused, Khalid planted on the
ings of railways from pas- Indian Railways have presented with the General higher side Mujahid, was found dead un- parked bicycles
senger and freight traffic as allocated 1.48 lakh crores Budget 2018-19 on February der mysterious circumstances
also from sundry earnings in capital expenditure for 1, 2018 in Parliament, painted In short, capital expendi- during the trial in the police went off
April-July is 56, 717.84 crores capacity augmentation, dismal picture of its finan- ture of Indian Railways is custody.
against the target of 61, renewal of assets, electrifica- cial health indicating that increasingly being financed On November 23, 2007, 13
902.51 crores, whereas work- tion, redevelopment of sta- the railways have to remain through borrowings from people lost their lives when a Atul Kumar Ojha, while the court on merits. by STF Mohammad Akhtar
ing expenditure exceeded the tions and upgradation of its financially viable on bor- 8 per cent in 2010-11 to 55 series of RDX bombs planted lawyers of the convicts, Arif Shoaib has also written to of Kashmir was arrested on
budgetary targeted sum of total infrastructure. Railway rowed money from market percent in 2018-19, a sorry on the parked bicycles went Ali and Furkan Khan, pleaded state’s DG Police expressing December 27.
50, 487.36 crores to 52, 517.71 state of railways financial off at the court premises of for leniency, saying they had serious threat of life to these Earlier, the STF had
crores. viability. It is to be noted that Lucknow, Faizabad and Vara- been in jail for last 11 years. convicts in the jail as a judicial informed that the four ac-
Other expenditure on private investments in the nasi. The police had earlier However, Human Rights commission headed by RD cused were the operatives
account of pension liability, railways are not forthcoming, confirmed that the blasts activists including Ramon Nimesh found cracks in the of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Railway Board and railway said a Railway Board source. It were jointly carried out by the Magsaysay awardee Sand- Uttar Pradesh police theory (HuJI). Mohammad Tariq
institutions, in addition calls for massive investments operatives of Harkat-ul-Jihad eep Pandey and Arundhati related to the alleged involve- was accused for a blast in
to ordinary expenditure by the Union Government to al-Islami (HuJI) and Indian Dhuru, retired IPS officer S.R. ment of Qasmi and deceased Gorakhpur, UP, in May 2007.
involved, also exceeded the maintain balance between Mujahideen. Darapuri, Advocates Randhir Mujahid in terror activities. The Lucknow court blast was
total income, resulting in the commercial status and The court has said that Singh Sumar and Mohammad The commission has transferred to the anti-terror
Operating Ratio touching an social responsibility of Indian the accused had not only Shoaib (also the president of said, “the involvement of squad (ATS) which submitted
all-time high of 111.51. How- Railways as the one and only “attacked the judiciary but Rihai Manch) opposed the the accused in the incident the charge-sheet against the
ever, the first four months of modes of mass transporta- also conspired to wage war judgement in a press confer- mentioned in the case accused in April 2008.
the current fiscal year 2018-19 tion of core commodities against the country, which ence, alleging that the ac- (crime number 1891/2007) However, in the Varanasi
is a lean period and Operating and bulk of our people who is serious offences.” Demand cused have not been granted a registered in Kotwali police court blast case, the police are
Ratio improves during the last cannot afford other modes of for the death penalty was fair trial as judgement suffers station in Barabanki appeared yet to ascertained any infor-
quarter of the fiscal year, as transportation. raised by Joint Director of from procedural and factual doubtful.” mation and arrest the culprits.
usual. ATS Subhash Chandra Singh infirmities. They resolved to On August 31, 2012, the
Operating Ratio has been LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM and senior public prosecutor challenge the verdict in high 237-page Nimesh Commis- LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

TEHELKA / 15 SEPTEMBER 2018 42 WWW.TEHELKA.COM TEHELKA / 15 SEPTEMBER 2018 43 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

42 Siddiqui.indd 3 9/1/2018 3:29:04 PM 43 Tehelka Correspondent.indd 3 9/1/2018 3:29:26 PM