Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not directly mention ISI’s name in the Kanpur train derailment case ” and that investigations in three railway accidents, where sabotage is suspected, were yet to be completed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Over 140 people were killed when the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur on November 20 last year. Three persons, arrested in Bihar for allegedly planting a pressure cooker bomb on a railway track at Ghorasan in Motihari, Bihar, had said that they were asked to do so by Pakistan’s ISI, which was also involved in the Kanpur train accident.
The arrests in Bihar were made on the basis of information provided by Nepal police, which was probing a double murder case. Nepal Police said while the accused arrested in Nepal had admitted to involvement in the Ghorasan incident, they did not say anything about the Kanpur incident. The U.P. police had also denied any sabotage in the train accident. During Question Hour, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh sought to know from Mr. Singh whether Mr. Modi was directly getting reports from the NIA regarding the ISI’s involvement, which the Home Minister was not aware of.
Direct inputs for PM?
“During his electoral rally in Gonda on February 23, the PM said that the police have found a huge conspiracy which was hatched by the people sitting on the other side of the border. Whether it is a fact that ISI and Pakistan-sponsored agencies are involved in such attacks?” the MP asked.
“The (written) answer is: the matter is under investigation, which means that the PM is getting his reports directly from the NIA of which the Home Minister is not aware of. I would like to ask the Home Minister whether it is a fact that the PM was aware, when he made this speech in Gonda, that there is a specific hand of the ISI agencies and Pakistan in this sabotage of the Kanpur incident?” the Congress MP sought to know.
Mr. Singh in his reply, said: “Most terrorist attacks in the country are sponsored by the neighbouring country and everyone is aware of this. But the Prime Minister’s statement you are talking about has also been reported in newspapers. The PM did not directly mention ISI’s name..The NIA is investigating and wait for the investigations to get over.”
