Indian Railways has debunked a viral claim propagated by fact-checker Mohammed Zubair and some media outlets, which alleged that three passengers fell from the overcrowded Karmbhoomi Express near Nashik, resulting in two deaths and one injury during the Diwali travel rush. The misleading narrative, widely circulated on social media, has been exposed as false, highlighting the dangers of misinformation during high-traffic festival periods.
In an official statement posted on X, Central Railway clarified that the incident involved trespassers, not passengers, and occurred between Nashik and Odha stations on the evening of October 18, 2025. The Railways made it clear that the affected people were not on the train at the time of the incident.
Central Railway posted on X, “Don’t spread fake news. No passengers fell from the Karmbhoomi Express. It was a trespassing incident that occurred between Nashik and Odha yesterday evening. The individuals involved were not on the train.”
Don’t spread fake news
No passengers fell from the Karmbhoomi Express.It was a trespassing incident that occurred between Nashik and Odha yesterday evening.
— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) October 19, 2025
They further added that the injured individuals were promptly hospitalized, and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has launched an investigation to ascertain the facts. The railway authority categorically denied claims that the incident was related to overcrowding on the Karmbhoomi Express, calling out the false narrative spread by Alt News co-cofounder Md Zubair and certain media outlets.
The Railways was responding to a X post by Zubair, where he wrote, “Three passengers travelling to Bihar to celebrate Diwali and Chhat puja with their loved ones fall from the train heading from Mumbai to Bihar, Two dead and one is seriously injured.” He also trolled Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the incident, saying, “Meanwhile, @AshwiniVaishnaw had announced that Indian Railways will operate 12,000 special trains for the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals to accommodate the high passenger volume, particularly for travel to and from Bihar. What ever happened to that?”
The ’fact-checker’ was quoting a post by NDTV India, which claimed that 3 passengers fell from a train going from Mumbai to Bihar, and two of them died. The post stated, “Three passengers fell from the Karmabhoomi Express heading from Mumbai to Bihar near Nashik, in which two died and one is seriously injured. Nashik Road police arrived at the scene and took custody of the bodies of the deceased. According to the police, this accident occurred between kilometers 190/1 and 190/3 of the track leading to Bhusawal. The ages of both deceased young men are reported to be between 30 and 35 years. Meanwhile, the third passenger has been admitted to the district government hospital in serious condition.”
Not just NDTV, almost every media report on the incident claimed that the victims of the incidents fell from overcrowded Karmabhoomi Express. As per reports, the station manager of Odha railway station the informed Nashik Road railway administration about the incident, after which police found two youths dead and one seriously injured. The injured youth was immediately admitted to the district hospital. Notably, both the station master and the local police had assumed that they were standing near the door of the Karmabhoomi Express which crossed the station at that time, lost their balance and fell due to the crowd.
कर्मभूमि एक्सप्रेस से कोई यात्री नहीं गिरा।कृपया सिर्फ़ सही और पुष्टि… https://t.co/oCGCtTW3B8
— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) October 19, 2025
However, now the Railway authorities have made it clear that they were on the train, and the incident had nothing to do with overcrowding. They were trespassing on railway tracks, and were hit by the train on Saturday night.
Apart from Md Zubair, the Central Railway also posted the same message as replies to several posts including media reports claiming that the victims fell from the train.
Some media sources have reported that 3 passengers have fallen down from Karmbhoomi Express.
It is clarified that
This is *An incident of trespassing* which happened between Nashik and Odha stations
yesterday evening.
They were not travelling on the train.
Three persons were…— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) October 19, 2025
Before the replies, they also posted a message clarifying that the three youths were not travelling on the train, and that it was an “*An incident of trespassing* which happened between Nashik and Odha stations.”
