Rly inquiry begins, 7 bodies identified

A district magistrate and the informationofficer of the state were helping relatives of the victims to identify the bodies. Simultaneously, the authorities are checking out from computer charts the addresses of the 18 persons who were travelling in the ill-fated bogies.

The bodies, charred beyond recognition, have been kept in refrigerated rooms and could be thus preserved for a week, Dr Singh said. Authorities have also collected bones and ashes strewn on the seats of the bogies and packed them in 18 separate boxes which would be handed over to relatives, Dr Singh said.

Meanwhile, victims’ relatives started pouring in at the hospital where a special inquiry counter has been set up. Of the 15 injured persons admitted, two were discharged on Saturday and nine were allowed to leave on Sunday. The rest were undergoing treatment. One of them was reported to be serious as he had suffered head injuries, Dr Singh said.

Meanwhile Railway Minister Mamata Bannerjee said that an "act of sabotage" could have led to the fire in the Ferozpur-bound PunjabMail Express at Bhusawal in Maharashtra, on Sunday. "Though the Safety Commission and top Railway officials have gone there to inquire into the incident, the claims by two bona fide passengers indicate that this is an act of sabotage", she told reporters in the presence of the two eye witnesses Rajender Singh and Virender Singh, who raised an alarm soon after the train caught fire.

Rajender, who was travelling from Kalyan to Mathura by the train and claimed to be the first witness, said, "I smelt petrol and raised an alarm by shouting when fire emanated from a blanket and spread rapidly".

A resident of Bageswar in Uttar Pradesh near China border, Rajender said the fire broke out at about 3.15 am and he instead of saving his own valuables, which included cash of Rs 20,000, tried to rouse everybody so that they could escape.

Rajender, who claimed to have brought the money from his widowed sister, came here to apprise the Railway Minister of the incident along with a co-passenger Virender Singh asofficials including police at Bhusawal did not hear him. Banerjee gave Rs 20,000 to Rajender, who also sustained minor burn injuries in his hands, from her personal salary in appreciation of his good work. Banerjee said, "He (Rajender) has done a very good job. He lost everything but saved many lives and he should be awarded". "What puzzles me is the presence of petrol. One cannot play with lives of common people", she said when asked if it was a sabotage.

Rajender said the train was running in the forest and people tried to get down from Coach Number Eight of the train after it stopped following chain pulling but the gate could not be opened in the dark and the panicky passengers moved to other coaches. The train stopped within five to ten minutes of the incident and mainly old men, children and few others who tried to save their belongings became the victims, he said adding the casualty could have been prevented "had the police present in the bogey immediately responded to my request".

Virender said,"Rajender saved my life and that of many others by raising an alarm. Railway and police officials were not interested to hear us at Bhusawal. When we came to Delhi we thought it was proper to tell the Madam (Banerjee) about the incident and we are happy that she gave us a hearing".