Shiv Kumar Yadav's journey to participate in the 'griha pravesh' (house warming) ceremony of his newly-constructed house at Pasar Village in Begusarai turned out to be the last journey of his life, as the Indore-Patna Express in which he was travelling from Indore to Patna, met with an accident near Pukhrayan in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh early Sunday morning, killing more than hundred passengers.
His family members in Bihar, who were praying for his well-being since they came to know about the accident through television, were informed by one of the Shiv's friends about his demise.
Shiv's younger brother, Vikas Kumar Yadav, who was anxiously waiting at the Patna Junction to know the fate of his brother, told reporters: "In the morning, when one of the friends of my brother, who had knowledge about his journey to Patna by that train, came to know about the accident, made a call on his number. The call was responded was some local resident, who told him that my brother was dead."
"The local resident said the phone was ringing in my brother's pocket that is why he picked the call," Vikas added.
Vikas further said, "My brother had got his home constructed recently, and was on his way to home to attend the griha pravesh ceremony."
Shiv, who was working at a 'supari' (beetle nut) factory in Indore for the past 15 years, is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.
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More than hundred passengers were killed and scores of others injured when 14 coaches of the train derailed at around 3 a.m. near Pukhrayan, about 100 km from Kanpur.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered an inquiry into the accident. He said, the Commissioner, Railway Safety, will inquire into reasons behind the derailment.
The railways have announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 3.5 lakh each to next of kin to those killed, Rs. 50,000 for seriously injured and Rs. 25,000 for minor injury.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed heartfelt condolences to families of deceased in the accident. They also prayed for speedy recovery of the injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and Rs. 50,000 for those seriously injured.
The Prime Minister spoke to Prabhu who is personally monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, Minister of State, Manoj Sinha has reached the spot.
The Railways have released helpline numbers for the people- Ujjain - 07342560906, Ratlam - 074121072, Orai - 051621072, Jhansi - 05101072, Pukhrayan - 05113270239. The death toll may go up as some passengers are still feared trapped.