Utkal Express derailment: CPI demands higher ex-gratia for

The CPI(M) today said the compensation given by the railways to the families of the 21 people killed in the Utkal Express derailment near Khatauli was not sufficient and it should be increased.

"Family of each of those killed must get Rs 25 lakh as compensation, and the state government must bear the cost of treatment of the injured," secretary the party's Uttar Pradesh unit Dr. Girish said in a statement.

Fourteen coaches of the high-speed Utkal Express last evening jumped the rails, with one of them crashing into a house adjacent to the track near Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar district, killing 21 people and leaving several others injured.

The compensation given by the Union railway ministry is inadequate, he said.

The party has instructed its workers and leaders in Muzaffarnagar to extend all possible help to the people in the derailment.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)