West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari offered his condolences to the families of young students who lost their lives in the tragic Murshidabad train incident.
“There are no words to ease such profound pain and the entire State stands with the bereaved families during this dark hour,” Adhikari posted on X after the incident which left three students dead and several others injured after a train collided with a school van at a railway level crossing in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Friday morning.
The Chief Minister said that he has directed the administration to provide “all possible assistance” to the injured and the affected families. He informed that state Minister Gouri Sankar Ghosh who is the MLA from Murshidabad has already visited the Hospital and monitoring the situation.
The Murshidabad District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police are on site as well to supervising the operations, Adhikari said.
“We are ensuring that the best medical care is provided to those undergoing treatment. Health Minister Dr. Sharadwat Mukherjee is personally ensuring that the injured receive the best possible treatment at the Medical College,” he said.
Deeply saddened by the tragic train accident in Murshidabad this morning.
My heart goes out to the families especially parents of the young students who lost their lives. There are no words to ease such profound pain and the entire State stands with the bereaved families during…— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) July 17, 2026
Issuing a stern warning to those who may have been negligent in their duties which led to this accident, Adhikari informed that the Railway Gateman has been arrested.
“A thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident will be conducted and I assure the people of West Bengal that the strictest possible action will be taken against those found responsible,” he said.
Meanwhile the Indian Railways has formed a 10-member special committee to investigate the incident. It has been announced that the families of those killed in the accident will be given financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each and the injured will be given compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh each.
The accident took place around 7 am at the Karnasubarna railway crossing in Berhampore. According to local sources, the students were travelling to school when the van attempted to cross the railway tracks. The crossing was reportedly open at the time.
The speeding Nimtita-Katwa passenger train hit the van and a passenger as the level crossing gate was open. The deceased have been identified as Jessica Yasmin (9), Farhana Sultana (6) and Jamshed Ali (65). Locals claimed that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the gateman. The mob locked him up inside his cabin and demanded strict punishment. Later, police personnele from the Berhampore police personnel reached the spot and arrested him.
According to Eastern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shivram Majhi the initial investigation revealed that there was no fault in the signaling system on the railway track between Karnasubarna and Govindapur stations at the time of the accident. The train was following the correct signals. He claimed that the accident may have occurred due to the negligence of the gateman and supervisor in charge of operating the interlocking gate both of whom have been suspended.
Meanwhile, local residents have claimed that the gateman was often found under drunk and would even forget to open the gate after closing it, leading to the level crossing remaining closed for hours. They claimed that the gateman was even found in an inebriated state at the time of his arrest, and did not respond to why he had left the gate open which led to the accident.
Locals have even alleged that no action was taken even after several complaints were filed against him.