Mamata smells ‘sabotage’

She also tried to draw a parallel between the latest accident and the Jnaneshwari Express derailment on May 28 near Kharagpur,West Midnapur,which claimed over 150 lives and has been found to be the result of “sabotage” by Maoist-linked PCAPA members. She said that these two incidents in quick succession have raised suspicions in her mind.

The accident occurred when the Sealdah-bound Uttar Banga Express rammed into the Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express from the rear at Sainthia station at 2 am in the morning. Vananchal Express had just started to roll out of platform number 4 at Sainthia station when the train hit it from behind. The engine of Uttar Banga Express ploughed through one luggage coach and two general coaches causing maximum causalities.

Banerjee reached Sainthia Railway station at 12.50 pm after taking a flight from Delhi and then a special train from Bidhanagar railway station,Kolkata,on Monday. A huge crowd awaited her at the station,causing a stampede-like situation. Along with managing the crowd,the railway minister asked the local people about the role of the police and whether they were responsible in any way.

She took stock of the rescue measures and went to Suri Sadar Hospital,where the dead and the injured had been brought and asked the Railways to open a help line. She did not rule out a CBI enquiry into the accident and said that once the enquiry from the Railways is over,she would look into it.

Eastern Railway General Manager V N Tripathi said that Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety R P Yadav had reached the accident site and started investigations. Tripathi said there are evidences like the signal at the station when the other train entered and the railways are putting their evidence together. The railway officials said it is strange that a train rammed another train at the station at top speed when it was to halt at the station for a few minutes.