Railways ordered to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation

The Railway Claims Tribunal has awarded a Rs four lakh compensation to the parents of a seven-year-old girl who died after she fell from the emergency window of a Kerala-bound train from Delhi at Palakkad last year.
The girl, Jiya Ann George, was playing with her brother in the S11 compartment when she accidentally fell off the Kerala Express through the open emergency window on the morning of December 26 last. Her father, who was also travelling with them, rushed her to a hospital in an autorickshaw about 18 km away but could not save her life.
The girl was visiting her mother, a nurse doing her post-graduation at Kottayam, for the New Year.

The Tribunal dismissed the railway's plea that the mishap had occurred due to the negligence of the child's father who was asleep when the incident took place, Tribunal sources said today.
The Tribunal's judicial member said the emergency window has to be opened only in emergency situations to save someone's life. Railways had failed to ensure the safety and security of the passenger, the Tribunal held.
The amount has to be paid within 60 days with 8 per cent interest from April 10 when the application for compensation was filed, sources said.