Cases of railways suffering financial losses due to negligence of employees are not uncommon. However, in one case, an innocuous phone call between an employee and his wife proved exceptionally costly, resulting in a loss of Rs 3 crore to the Railways. While talking to his wife during working hours, the station master casually responded “OK” to a question. This was misinterpreted as a green signal by a loco pilot, who then took it as a green signal to send the train on a restricted route in the Maoist-affected area. This was in violation of the restrictions imposed on visiting the area at night. Due to this, Railways had to suffer a loss of Rs 3 crore.
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The department took immediate action and suspended the station master for lapse in judgement. An attempt by a station master to end a heated phone call with his wife by using the word “OK” has unexpected consequences. His words were mistakenly interpreted as authorization to send a train to the Naxal-hit area, triggering a chain of events. The station master, resident of Visakhapatnam, was married to a woman from Durg. According to court records, their marriage was registered on October 12, 2011. However, marital discord arose due to the bride’s feelings for a previous lover. She had confessed to her husband about her emotional attachment, which caused tension in their relationship.
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Despite reassurances from the wife’s parents, she continued communications with her former partner, even talking to him in the presence of her husband. The marriage was already on shaky ground when one night, she called the station master during his shift, leading to another argument. Asking him to end the conversation he said loudly that we will talk at home, okay? Unaware that his microphone was on. His colleague, hearing only “OK”, took it as a signal to move the goods train on the restricted route. Although no accidents occurred, the Railways suffered a loss of Rs 3 crore due to violation of night-time restrictions.
