Pune Train Fire Incident: A normal morning turned into a scary one for some passengers onboard the Daund–Pune DEMU train on Monday, June 17, when a minor fire broke out inside a coach at Yevat railway station. The reason? A bidi carelessly thrown into a dustbin by a 55-year-old man believed to be a beggar.
The incident happened around 7:52 am when the train had halted at Yevat station. According to railway officials, the man boarded the train, lit a bidi, and threw it into a dustbin near the toilet area. Within moments, smoke started filling the coach, leading to panic among the passengers present.
Thankfully, there were very few passengers inside that particular coach at the time. As the train was still at the station, Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff and station officials acted quickly. They used fire extinguishers available on the train to control and stop the fire.
Hemantkumar Behera, the spokesperson for the Pune railway division, said, “The fire was brought under control in time. The train was delayed by only 20 minutes and resumed its journey at 8:14 am.”
The elderly man, who is from Madhya Pradesh, was immediately detained by RPF officials. He was handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) and sent for a medical check-up. RPF Commissioner Priyanka Sharma confirmed his identity and said necessary action is being taken.
This train service runs daily between Daund and Pune, covering a distance of around 75 km. While no one was hurt in this incident, it did cause a lot of panic, especially due to the smoke. The authorities are now expected to look into ways to avoid such incidents in the future.
Passengers praised the quick response by the railway staff, which helped avoid a bigger disaster. The incident reminds us how even a small act of carelessness can turn dangerous in a public space like a train.
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