To Rescue Crocodile, Rajdhani Express Halts for 20 Minutes in Gujarat's Kajran

The railway officials had to halt Rajdhani Express for at least 20 minutes to rescue a crocodile, who was in pain, at Gujarat’s Kajran on Tuesday early hours.

According to a senior railway officer, around 3:00 in the morning, the railway patrolling team informed the Kajran station master about the injured crocodile sprawling on the railway tracks.

The station superintendent contacted his seniors and the Indian Railways decided to halt the premium train for some time.

Santosh Kumar, station superintendent of Kajran railway station, said, “Around 3:00 am, I got a call from the patrolling team about the crocodile sprawling on the railway track around five kilometres from the station.”

“Rajdhani Express destined to Mumbai, running on the Vadodara-Mumbai main line was to cross the station. We do not delay the premium train even for a second but to save the crocodile we halted it,” added Kumar.

The Kajaran railway station superintendent further told the media that they contacted wildlife activist Hemant Vadhwana for help. The activist, along with another active female wildlife activist Neha Patel, reached the spot to help railway officials to rescue the crocodile.

“We were pleased to know that the Indian Railways decided to halt their premium train to rescue the injured crocodile,” said Hemant.

Hemant further said that upon reaching the spot we found that the crocodile had suffered a head injury and was not able to move its jaw. “With help of the Indian Railways patrolling team and other officials, we removed the animal from the railway tracks and provided it first aid. However, the gigantic reptile did not survive.”

“The reptile could have suffered an injury after coming under the wheels of a train. The body of the reptile was later handed to the Gujarat forest department officials,” added the wildlife activist.

“It is possible that the crocodile strayed out of its natural habitat due to flooding,” said a forest department official.

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and Ukraine-Russia War Live Updates here.