News

Sabarimala gold theft: Bellary-based jeweller moves Kerala HC seeking bail

He is charged with misappropriating 474 gm of gold from the gold-plated copper coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols

SIT arrests Chennai firm CEO, Bellary jeweller in Sabarimala gold heist case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday claimed a major breakthrough in the Sabarimala gold heist case with the arrest of Pankaj Bhandari, chief executive officer of Chennai-based Smart Creations, and Govardhan, a jewellery owner from Bellary, pointing to an inter-State nexus behind the alleged subterfuge. The two were taken into custody after being questioned for several hours by SIT sleuths. According to investigators, gold-plated sheets removed from the Sabarimala door frame and the dwarapalaka idols had been sent to Smart Creations for repair work. About 100 grams of gold was reportedly given to the firm as remuneration for the work. Sources said the SIT found that the gold paid to Bhandari as remuneration belonged to Sabarimala and that he was aware of its origin. A portion of the gold allegedly extracted from the sheets was later sent to Govardhan through Kalpesh, who acted as a courier, the sources added. The arrests are expected to help investigators unravel the wider network involved in the alleged diversion of temple gold.

2,961 signal failures per annum in South West Railways cause for concern: CAG

NEW DELHI: Substantial cases of signal failures at an average of 2,961 incidents per annum in the South Western Railway zone reflect poorly on the reliability and availability of signalling systems, according to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The audit examined the performance of the Signal and Telecommunication (S&T) Department of three Divisions, Hubballi, Bengaluru and Mysuru, of South Western Railway (SWR) during the period from 2018-19 to 2022-23. It added that though the cases of accidents in SWR are declining, cases of 'Signal Passing At Danger or red signal jump' (SPAD) and wrong interlocking of points which can divert trains to lines already occupied by other trains are a cause for concern. It observed that adequate time was granted to the signal department by halting the train operations, however, cases of signal failures continued to take place in substantial numbers. Safety audit had also pointed out several irregular maintenance practices. Most of the observations were repetitive which suggests that constant monitoring was absent, the report said. It added, There were several instances of abnormal delays in attending to deficiencies pointed out during inspections/joint inspections by the safety department. The auditors found several cases of disconnection or reconnection of signalling equipment in contravention of Railway Board orders which mandated that no disconnection/ reconnection should be resorted to without issuing a disconnection memo to the station master and obtaining necessary approvals. The report has recorded several cases of non-compliance with deficiencies pointed out during joint inspections by the safety audit. For instance, deficiencies pointed out during the joint inspection of points and crossings at Bellary station yard in December 2020 were not attended to for three months till March 2021. In another case in Kudatini station yard, the CAG said the deficiency regarding broken sleepers at the point region was not attended to even after one year by March 2021. The report has also mentioned a case of averted head-on collision of two trains, one involving train no. 12649 Sampark Kranthi Express. It said that due to the negligence of staff, the track was interlocked in such a way that it made a route for the passenger train to a line already occupied by another train. This serious anomaly was noticed by the loco pilot who stopped the train before Point No. 65A. Had the train not been stopped before the wrongly set point, it would have moved in the down line leading to a head-on collision with a goods train moving in the down line, the report said. Railway Administration replied that in view of the implications on safety, action was being taken against staff carrying out works without following the procedure of issuing disconnection/re-connections, under discipline & appeal rules and deterrent penalty imposed, it added. Further, safety audit reports also pointed out several lapses regarding the disconnection/ reconnection of the signalling system. Auditing the provision of an indigenous train collision avoidance system (TCAS or KAVACH) on a low-density railway network for 1563 route kilometres, the CAG said that the work was sanctioned in 2020-21 for a value of Rs 469 crore. It added that even after a lapse of more than three years of sanction, the detailed estimate had not been prepared for the work by March 2024 and its non-execution resulted in the non-availability of TCAS in SWR. thus, the envisaged benefits of the works to improve the reliability of signalling systems in stations, level crossings and provision of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) in stations could not be obtained, it added and recommended several measures to improve the train operation safety. Signal equipment failures, though showing a declining trend, are taking place in significant numbers. Maintenance mechanisms are required to be made more effective to avoid the incidences of signal failures, the CAG recommended. Disconnection/ reconnections of signalling assets are to be done as per rules. Maintenance staff are to be counselled for addressing signalling issues, it added, mentioning several other safety checks.