‘Before crash,Vananchal guard delayed train by 7 minutes’

Emerging from the Commission chamber at Sainthia station,Ravi Kumar admitted that Vananchal had stopped at the station for an additional seven minutes even after getting the green signal. He blamed his train guard Amritangsu Mukherjee for not giving permission to leave the station. He said his train entered the station at 1.51 am and was given green signal at 1.54 am. But the train left Sainthia station at 2.01 am. “I do not know why the guard was silent for seven minutes,” he said.

Driver Md Nayeem seconded his assistant. “I tried to contact my guard,but he did not reply. After seven minutes he asked us to leave,” said Nayeem.

Ravi Kumar revealed that two-three minutes after leaving the station,Vananchal was stopped because of chain pulling. Minutes after it stopped,the Uttarbanga Express rammed into the Vananchal. “I cannot say who pulled the chain,” he told The Indian Express.

Significantly,the guard of Uttarbanga Express,Somnath Sengupta also said he could not make any contact with his drivers,when he saw that the train was running at an abnormal speed. “I repeatedly tried to talk to the drivers,but they did not respond,” Sengupta said,emerging from the Commission chamber.

Meanwhile,preliminary post-mortem reports of the two Uttarbanga drivers at Suri hospital have indicated that there was no addictive substance in the bodies,according to a top police officer who did not want to be named. For detailed analysis,the viscera samples have been sent for examination,the officer said.

The critical questions that remain unanswered include: why did cabin master at the station Mator Let clear the entry of Uttarbanga at 1.57 am,only three minutes after the Vananchal was given green signal to leave the station. Why did the driver and guard of Vananchal not move the train out despite repeated announcement from the Station Masters’ office? And who pulled the chain?

Commissioner of Railways Safety R P Yadav said he was collecting all the evidence and taking statements from about a dozen Railway personnel.

Station Manager S K Mukherjee said the cabin master has been asked not to resume duty till further order. “Action would be taken after the inquiry is over,” he said.