Carnage on tracks

In one of the worst strikes by Maoists in recent times,at least 73 people were killed and over 120 injured when 13 coaches of the superfast Howrah-Kurla Jnaneswari Express derailed in West Bengal....

In one of the worst strikes by Maoists in recent times,at least 73 people were killed and over 120 injured when 13 coaches of the superfast Howrah-Kurla Jnaneswari Express derailed in West Bengal in the dead of night and a goods train approaching from the other end tore into six of the derailed coaches.

Several passengers remained trapped in the smashed coaches till late Friday evening officials said the death toll was likely to climb. Rescue workers were struggling with cutters to cut through twisted heaps of metal.

The incident took place near Sardiha on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section between 1.15 am and 1.20 am Friday. The site is 134 km from Howrah. Train services on the stretch have been suspended from 10 pm to 5 am for the time being.

Personnel of the CRPF,among the first to reach the site,found posters of the Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities PCAPA in which the outfit reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The PCAPA,a Maoist frontal organisation in the Lalgarh area,was protesting the extreme torture let loose on tribal villages of West Midnapore. It had called for indefinite blockade of road and rail routes.

Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the derailment on a bomb blast on the tracks but West Bengal police said it seemed to be an act of sabotage since fish plates had been removed. The tracks had a 16-inch break and appeared to have been cut.

DGP Bhupinder Singh,who said the blast theory was yet to be established,said clips to hold sections of tracks were also found missing over a 50-metre stretch. Some passengers too said theydid not hear a blast. It is a clear case of sabotage. The Maoists have done it, Singh said.

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In New Delhi,Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the derailment appeared to be an act of sabotage,but it was not yet clear whether explosives were used in the blast.

Banerjee said the casualty figures would not have been so high had the goods train not slammed into the derailed coaches they had tilted onto the adjoining tracks after derailment. Probably the blast was timed in such a way that the two trains collide and casualty figures rise, said Banerjee.

Railway tracks stretch over 65,000 km in the country8230; the railway is the lifeline8230; how can one stop running trains because of Maoists threats8230; it is such an unfortunate incident8230; law and order is a state subject8230; if the state government fails to control and tells us,we will stop services, she said,adding that she would be writing to the Union Home Minister,urging him to ensure safety and security for rail operations.

She announced Rs five lakh each for the kin of the dead and a job for a family member,and Rs one lakh for the injured.

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Hours after the incident,73 bodies could be extricated. Many more appeared to be still trapped inside the reserved S-3,S-4,S-5,S-6 coaches. The Army,IAF and paramilitary forces were carrying out relief and rescue operations. IAF helicopters flew out the injured.

The train derailed when most passengers were asleep. The Kurla-bound train had left Kharagpur and its next stop was Tatanagar. The train usually runs at a speed of 110 kmph on this stretch but following Maoist threats,the engine driver was told to restrict the speed to 75 kmph. The goods train,with 58 wagons and two multi-power engines,slammed into the derailed coaches.

Rajiv Ranjan,Assistant Station Master of Sardiha,said he received call from the Jnaneswari Express engine driver at 1.20 am,saying the tracks had been blasted and the train had derailed. Soon we heard a big boom. That was probably the goods train ramming the Jnaneswari coaches.