Railways defends 'zero fatality' claim after NITI Aayog questions data

A day after NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant expressed doubts over Indian Railways’ claim of having ‘zero fatality’ this financial year and just five deaths on tracks in 2019-20 (FY20), the national transporter on Thursday defended its numbers. 

Kant had said in a letter to the Railway Board Chairman that over 2,000 people lost their lives in the Mumbai suburban network every year and that too must be considered while reporting fatalities.

In response, Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav said on Thursday that deaths due to rail accidents were low in the past two years. However, deaths due to