BAHAWALPUR: A preliminary inquiry into the missing coal from the train scheduled for Sahiwal has ruled out the possibility of theft, instead suggesting that the 22 tonnes of coal simply blew away into the air.
The coal, initially reported to weigh 70 tonnes, went missing at the Kulab Railway Station between Channigoth and Dera Nawab while being shifted to the coal-fired power plant in Qadirabad from Port Qasim.
According to Public Relations Officer Iqbal Gilani, of the Pakistan Railways office of divisional superintendent in Multan, the inquiry carried out by a special team submitted its initial report to the senior administration officials. The report would also be forwarded to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Gilani said that the initial inquiry report disregarded chances of coal theft from the goods hopper car as the train was running at a high speed of about 100 kilometres per hour.
Police and railway officials on duty at Liaquatpur and other stations at the time of the incident informed sources that the running train was stopped at Kulab station for five minutes by train staff after they noticed black clouds hovering over the railway track.
The report claimed that both the doors of hopper car were found open due to which the coal loaded in it kept on blowing away in the high winds generated by the train’s speed. It also hinted at the possibility that the black clouds observed by train staff could have been of the same coal. However, it said that no traces of the coal were found along the track.
The report did not point fingers at any official for their alleged negligence for leaving the gates of the car open; with the guard accompanying the train from Sukkur might possibly be held responsible for negligence.
Chinese officials had previously complained of alleged coal pilferage from the train, with police and railway teams combing the area and patrolling the whole track from Liaquatpur to Dera Nawab Sahib in order to find any evidence of coal theft. However they were unable find any such evidence.
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