A mother and her 12-year-old daughter were killed by the Down Asansol–Sealdah Intercity Express while crossing railway tracks at Khana Junction in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district on Friday morning, according to a report by Anandabazar. The incident has renewed attention on the risks faced by passengers and local residents who cross active railway lines to reach the other side of a station or track section.
The victims were identified by their family as 30-year-old Puja Das and her daughter Pallabi Das. They lived in Krishnabati village in Mangalkot, Purba Bardhaman. The pair had reportedly travelled to Khana village in Galsi during the Puja holiday to visit Puja’s parental home.
According to local residents cited in the report, Puja and Pallabi had reached Khana Junction on Friday morning to return to their marital home. They attempted to cross the railway line when the train was entering the station area. The report said the two may not have noticed the signal before crossing, although the circumstances remain based on local accounts.
The Down Asansol–Sealdah Intercity Express struck the mother and daughter at the site. Both died at the spot, the report said. The incident took place on the Bardhaman–Asansol railway route, a key rail corridor in eastern India serving passenger movement between Bardhaman, Asansol and Sealdah-linked destinations.
After receiving information about the accident, personnel from the Government Railway Police at Bardhaman station reached the location and recovered the bodies. Puja’s father, Bapi Das, and other family members went to Bardhaman station, where they identified the victims.
The bodies were sent to the police morgue at Bardhaman Medical College for post-mortem examinations in accordance with procedure. The report did not specify whether the station had a footbridge, an underpass or other designated access route at the point where the two were crossing, nor did it provide details of any railway inquiry into the accident.
The deaths have left residents of Krishnabati and Khana villages in mourning. The immediate case now involves the formal post-mortem process and the railway police’s handling of the accident. Further details about the crossing conditions and any official findings were not available in the supplied report.
