2 hours ago
5
ARTICLE AD BOX
It was a WhatsApp message that alerted his family to the miraculous survival of two-year-old Rishi Yadav. The toddler from Bilaspur’s Devrikhurd was travelling with his parents and grandmother in the ill-fated Bilaspur–Tatanagar Express for his father Arjun’s treatment in Janjgir-Champa district when the train rammed a stationary goods train near Bilaspur railway station.
The family had been in the first coach, which took the full impact. While the crash killed Arjun, his wife Sheila and her mother, Rishi was pulled out of the wreckage — injured but alive.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
“After the two-year-old was rescued, authorities couldn’t identify him,” said Sonu, a friend of Arjun’s. “It was after his photo was circulated on several WhatsApp groups that his aunt recognised him. I also saw the photo on one such group and alerted the family.”
The family had gone to Champa city in neighbouring Janjgir-Champa to consult a doctor for Arjun, an autorickshaw driver in his 30s. Arjun was reluctant to make the hour-long, but his family insisted that the health problem he had was serious.
“His wife and mother-in-law went with him to support him,” said his friend Nitesh Vastrakar.
While Arjun and his mother-in-law suffered fatal head and face injuries, it’s unclear what injuries Sheila sustained. He is survived by his toddler son, mother and two siblings.
His brother Ajay was inconsolable. “My nephew has lost both his parents. My mother is unwell, and I haven’t informed her of the tragedy, fearing for her life,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
The Indian Railways has announced ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for victim families, Rs 5 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries. Additionally, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
English (US) ·