Pratapgarh: Rail services in Pratapgarh were disrupted for nearly 40 minutes after a 27-year-old man climbed onto the roof of the moving Kashi Vishwanath Express on Saturday, December 6, leading to an urgent shutdown of overhead power and a joint rescue operation by the GRP and RPF. Police later confirmed that the man, identified as Mohammad Anas, was safely brought down.
Man Runs Across Coaches Under High-Voltage Wires
The incident unfolded around 4:20 pm when the New Delhi to Manduadih-bound train halted at Maa Belha Devi Dham railway station. According to reports, Anas climbed onto the roof of a coach without speaking to anyone. When the train began moving, he continued standing on the roof and later ran across multiple coaches while the train travelled under high-voltage electric lines.
Passengers filmed the scene from inside the compartments as many feared he could come into contact with the overhead wires. Railway officials received information about the situation around 12 minutes later, after which the control room cut off the power supply and stopped the train near Naya Mal Godown Road. All railway gates in the area were shut, causing temporary road congestion.
GRP Constable Climbs Onto Roof to Catch the Youth
A GRP team arrived shortly after the train halted. Officers attempted to persuade Anas to come down, but he continued running across the roof. A GRP constable then climbed onto the train and chased him across several coaches. The constable eventually managed to detain him and bring him down safely around 5:10 pm. Anas was taken into custody and moved to the police station.
Preliminary inquiries indicated that he was mentally ill and had been seen near the station earlier in the day. Police are trying to contact his family in Sant Kabir Nagar.
The disruption halted several trains on the Prayagraj to Lucknow line, affecting both long-distance and local services. Pratapgarh police later posted on X that the young man was rescued due to the quick action of GRP and RPF teams. Rail operations returned to normal after the incident.