CISF Jawan Dies After Being Run Over by Coal Train on NTPC Farakka Line in Jharkhand
CISF jawan Ashok Kumar Ghadei, 47, was killed after coming under the wheels of a coal-laden goods train he was guarding in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district. He had stepped off to fix a brake problem. Police are investigating.
A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan was killed early on Thursday, 22 October 2026, after he came under the wheels of a coal-laden goods train in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district. He was on duty guarding the train at the time of the accident.
The jawan has been identified as Ashok Kumar Ghadei, 47, a resident of Arvind Nagar in Brahmapur city, in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
How the accident happened
According to the district police, the goods train was carrying coal from Lalmatia in Godda district to the thermal power plant at Farakka in West Bengal. The police described the sequence of events as follows:
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On patrol: Ghadei was on board the train on routine guard duty.
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Brake problem: He got off the train to attend to a problem in its vacuum brake system.
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Accident: While doing so, he came under the wheels of the train and was critically injured.
Local reports said he suffered a serious head injury and that one of his thighs was severed. His body was found on the railway line between Chutia and Kunwarpur.
Declared dead at hospital
He was rushed to the Community Health Centre at Barharwa, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was later sent to the Sub-Divisional Hospital in Rajmahal for a post-mortem examination.
Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Singh said the CISF Commandant had informed him about the incident. Police teams, including personnel from Ranga police station, reached the spot. An investigation is under way to find out exactly how the accident happened.
No official statement from the CISF or NTPC has been reported so far. His colleagues at the CISF unit in Farakka are in mourning.
Why CISF guards these trains
The train was running on the Farakka-Lalmatia Merry-Go-Round line, a dedicated rail link owned and run by NTPC. It is a closed-loop system and not part of the Indian Railways network. Trains on this route carry coal from Eastern Coalfields Limited’s Rajmahal coal project to the Farakka thermal power station in a continuous cycle, which is why such lines are called “merry-go-round” systems. The power station is in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. It is one of NTPC’s major coal-based plants in eastern India and depends on a steady supply of coal from this route.
CISF personnel are regularly posted on these goods trains to stop coal theft during transport. The duty often involves long hours on moving trains, through remote stretches and in all weather conditions.
About the force
The CISF works under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It protects key public sector establishments such as power plants, airports, ports, metro systems and industrial units across the country. Its personnel at power plants and on coal routes face risks that rarely make the news, from accidents on the tracks to attempts at coal theft.
For aspirants
Incidents like this show the real risks faced by personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces, even far from borders and conflict zones. Aspirants preparing for SSC GD and other CAPF exams should understand what each force’s duties involve before filling in their force preferences. CISF work at industrial sites comes with its own set of challenges.
