By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday asked the commissioner of railway safety to probe the train-bus collision in Uttar Pradesh, in which 31 people were killed, and announced compensation of Rs.2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
“The prime minister is extremely grieved at the loss of lives in the accident involving a bus and a train collision at an unmanned railway crossing,” a statement from Manmohan Singh’s office said.
The statement said that the prime minister had directed Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal to proceed to the accident site and asked “the commissioner of railway safety to hold an enquiry”.
Besides ex-gratia relief of Rs.2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, Mamohan Singh has announced Rs.50,000 each for seriously injured and Rs.10,000 each for simple injuries.
At least 31 people were killed and over 30 injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanshiram Nagar district around 2 a.m. at the unmanned railway crossing in Thanagaon, about 250 km from Lucknow, when the Chhapra Mathura express train rammed into the bus carrying members of a wedding party.