The derailment of the Jnaneswari Express and its collision with a goods train between Kehmasoli and Sardiha stations on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of the Kharagpur division has been attributed to “sabotage.” The May 28 incident claimed 150 lives and left over 157 injured.
The statutory enquiry by S. Nayak, the Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle, Kolkata, has held that the accident occurred due to tampering with the track, including removal of the elastic rail clips and disturbance in cross level and alignment.
The CBI is currently probing the sabotage angle of the accident.
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Mr. Nayak said: “Photographs of two posters written in Bengali claiming responsibility found on both the up and down tracks, were produced during the enquiry. Photographs showed that the posters were put on sleepers with ballast stones kept over them. I was told that the posters were taken away by the CRPF for further investigation.”
“The CPI [Maoist] had called for observing Kala Saptha [Black Week] from May 28, 2010 to June 2, 2010.”
The report said the derailment took place on a straight track having clear and unobstructed visibility, but the view of the crew of the goods train, which crashed into the coaches of the derailed train, might have been obstructed by the dust kicked up by the derailment.
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