October 22, 2010
Jnaneswari mishap was a sabotage: Rly probe
A railway inquiry has blamed sabotage for the Jnaneswari Express accident on May 28 which claimed 148 lives. The preliminary inquiry conducted by the commissioner of railway safety, S Nayak, into the train mishap has said that the accident had occurred “due to tampering of track, including removal of elastic rail clips and disturbance of cross level.” “The cause of the accident is attributed to and certified as sabotage,” said the inquiry report submitted to railway ministry. The Howrah-Mumbai Jnaneswari Express had derailed and hit a goods train coming from the opposite direction between Khemasuli and Sardiha stations in Kharagpur division during early hours on May 28. In the report, Nayak said: “Having carefully considered all the evidence tendered, records produced, observations, site inspection and circumstantial evidence, I have come to the conclusion that derailment of Jnaneswari Express followed by collision with a goods train coming from opposite direction on May 25 was caused due to tampering of track including removal of elastic clips and disturbance of cross level.”After the accident, the railways have stopped running passengers’ trains between 10pm and 5am in the Kharagpur-Tata section. After the inquiry report blamed “sabotage” for the accident, railway minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the report has revealed everything. “I will not say anything. The report (of the preliminary inquiry) has revealed everything,” Ms. Banerjee told reporters here.
Courtesy: The Times of India
