The Railway Police today arrested Ram Lal, Assistant Station Master at Mirthal railway station, who has been absconding since Tuesday’s accident. The 51-year-old was produced in the court of Divisional Magistrate at Dasuya, J.S. Kang, and remanded to police custody till December 20.Three police teams have been despatched to Ludhiana, UP and Bihar, to track down Varinder Kumar Malvya, the station master of Bhangala railway station, said Additional Director General of the Railway Police, Pubjab, S.C. Jain.Lal was arrested this morning at his house in Mothli village, in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district. Jain said the operation was led by a Station House Officer of the Jalandhar Railway police station.Divisional Railway Manager Dharam Singh said Lal was posted to Mirthal from Kandroli station on the same line six months ago. Lal had recently been promoted. Singh added that no other information was available, as the department has taken his service book.Meanwhile, Jain said the police had prepared a detailed account of Malvya’s possible hideouts. Dismissing the rumours that Malvya might have committed suicide, Jain said he was very much alive and would soon be nabbed.After Tuesday’s accident, Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had ordered the suspension of both station masters. The Railway Police would initiate the inquiry once the Railway Safety Commissioner’s report was made available, Jain said. Out of the 38 victims of the accident, 37 have been identified, Jain claimed.
