DGP says no sabotage,points at human error

The CID probe was ordered on Tuesday by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee into the train crash at Sainthia station,about 190 km from Kolkata. Elaborating on it,DGP Singh said it was done since the accident,in which the Uttarbanga Express rammed the stationery Vananchal Express at high speed,involved victims from more than one state.

A passenger of the Vananchal who was injured filed an FIR at Sainthia GRP and it is on the basis of that complaint that CID inquiry was ordered. The charge that was slapped was negligent and rash driving on the part of the drivers of Uttarbanga. A CID team has already left for the spot, he said.

Commissioner of Railway Safety R P Yadav is conducting a separate probe. He will hold a court of inquiry at Sainthia station on Wednesday where the guard of Uttarbanga has been asked to be present. The drivers of Vananchal,also crucial witnesses,are expected to be present. A second hearing would be held at Howrah later where anyone would be allowed to depose.

Meanwhile,railway officials are looking into reports about the presence of a third person in the drivers cabin of Uttarbanga. He was also killed and,according to preliminary reports,he could be a third train driver who may have taken leave and was coming home to Kolkata in the drivers cabin. He boarded the train either at Rampurhat or Malda,said officials.

According to railway officials inquiring into the accident,two factors have emerged strongly over others that could have caused the disaster. First,the extra 12-minute stoppage of Vananchal at the station even after it was given the green signal. Also,finally when it left,there was a chain pulling attempt to stop the train near the outer signal of Sainthia station.

Railway sources said the signalling staff at Sainthia had given the green signal to Uttarbanga to roll into platform number 4,having assumed that Vananchal had rolled out and travelled a safe distance. When the Sainthia station master realised the signalling mistake,he made desperate attempts to alert the people about the speeding Uttarbanga over the public address system.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety,however,refused to say anything when asked about the preliminary findings.

Railway drivers,who did not want to be named,told The Indian Express that the possibility of the Uttarbanga drivers sleeping was remote. The driver had stopped properly at Gangadharpur ahead of Sainthia and it was impossible for both to fall asleep within 7-8 minutes that the train took to reach Sainthia, said a driver. They also denied that Uttarbanga could have been running at 80-90 kmph. They said when Express or Mail trains enter stations where there is a stoppage,they at times do so at high speed like 50-55 kmph. There is absolutely no problem in controlling the train to a halt, said a driver at Sealdah station.

Earlier in the day,ADG,Railways,Dilip Mitra met Chief Secretary Ardhendu Sen and Home Secretary Samar Ghosh,and submitted a report on the accident. We have given the possible cause of the accident, Mitra said.

Guard: Driver didnt respond to walkie-talkie

KOLKATA: The guard of Uttarbanga Express,Somnath Sengupta,who survived the accident,is believed to have told his wife that the train was running at a high speed right from the time it left Malda. Sangeeta Sengupta told reporters that her husband called on Monday and told her that between Rampurhat and Sainthia,he tried to speak to the driver several times on the walkie-talkie but failed. Before entering Sainthia,he again called on the walkie-talkie. The assistant driver responded but his voice was not clear. He said the home signal at Sainthia was green when Uttarbanga entered the platform. ENS