A 34-year-old train passenger was killed when an iron rod pierced through his neck after protruding the glass window of a coach of the Delhi-Kanpur Seemanchal Express near Somna village in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh at around 8.40am on Friday, December 2.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) have registered a case under IPC 304-A (causing death by negligence) and started investigations to find out what exactly happened. Railways spokesperson HS Upadhyay said, “The rod had come from outside into the general coach. Because of a serious injury from the rod, Sultanpur resident Hrishikesh Dubey died. This incident is being probed by the RPF and Government Railway Police.” Dubey worked in Delhi and he is survived by wife and two children, it is learnt. Dubey was on his way to attend a wedding and that he had spoken to his family over the phone minutes before the incident, investigators said. The GRP have spoken to the local Permanent Way Inspector and others of the Engineering Department as well as contractors engaged for the work there, sources said. The train was moving at a speed of 130kmph when the incident happened, a spokesperson said. Investigators say the iron rod, weighing around 7 kg, was kept at the side of the track for use in track-related engineering work being done by contractors. “We have spoken to Engineering Department officials and workers engaged by the contractors. Whoever is at the root of this negligence will be booked,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

After impaling Dubey’s neck, the rod went through the train’s cubicle and emerged on the other side, barely missing passengers sitting there, images of the scene available with the railways show.