HYDERABAD: A railway court recently sentenced a 42-year-old ‘sadhu’ from Haridwar to two years in jail for deliberately placing stones on tracks at multiple locations along the busy Kacheguda route, an act that South Central Railway (SCR) officials said could have triggered a major tragedy.The accused, Ramdas, was booked under sections 153, 174C and 147 of the Railways Act, which pertain to wilful acts endangering the safety of passengers, trespassing and obstruction of railway operations. In its order, the court observed that such acts posed a serious threat to human life and railway property, and had to be dealt with sternly under the law.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials said this was the highest jail term ever awarded in SCR for offences involving obstruction of rail tracks. In a majority of such cases, the accused are handed a maximum of three months’ imprisonment.The offence was reported on May 8, 2025, when trackmen alerted RPF about stones and elastic rail clips placed at junction points along the tracks between Kacheguda and Budvel stations. They suspected it to be a deliberate act.Treating the alert as critical, RPF constituted a special team and conducted an inspection of the affected locations. During the probe, officials examined CCTV footage from the surrounding areas, which showed the sadhu loitering suspiciously near the junction points. “Based on the footage and other evidence, we tracked him down and arrested him,” said Gorakhnath Mawl, RPF inspector, Kacheguda.Further investigation revealed that Ramdas, who had become a ‘sadhu’ after losing his livelihood as an electrician during the Covid pandemic, was a habitual offender. He travelled across states by train and indulged in similar dangerous acts. He was found to have committed similar offences in Tamil Nadu as well, RPF said.“During interrogation, we attempted to ascertain his motive, but he refused to offer any explanation. What surprised us was the methodical manner in which the offence was carried out. He placed 20 stones in a row at five different locations along the Kacheguda-Budvel section,” Mawl said.“Initially, we suspected the accused might be mentally unsound, but further questioning ruled out that possibility. He responded coherently to all questions and was fully aware of his actions,” he added.
