In a major breakthrough in the case involving the collapse of a wall on the road underbridge (RUB) between Erode and Chavadipalayam railway stations near Gatepudhur on October 24, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Salem Division, on Saturday arrested a lorry driver from Namakkal for causing the accident.
A portion of the retaining wall of the bridge had collapsed, disrupting both train operations and road traffic in the area for the last one week. Initially, it was believed that continuous rain had led to the collapse. However, under the direction of Divisional Security Commissioner Saurav Kumar, a special RPF team led by Inspector Sakthivel of Erode, with the support of Nakka Ganapathy, Sub-Inspector, Tiruppur, S. Gopalakrishnan, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Salem, A. Prakash, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Erode, and Sri Krishnan, Head Constable, Erode, was formed to determine the exact cause of the incident.
The team analysed CCTV footage from the past week and traced the vehicle responsible. Investigation revealed that a lorry carrying heavy goods had hit the structure and fled the spot.
The driver, identified as Nagarajan, 44, of Namakkal district, was arrested, and the lorry involved was seized. The accused was produced before Judicial Magistrate-II, Erode, and remanded to judicial custody.
In a release, the RPF warned all vehicle drivers to strictly adhere to road safety regulations near railway premises and warned that legal action would be taken against those who damaged railway property or endangered passenger safety.
Published – November 01, 2025 09:28 pm IST
