The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will not file any chargesheet in the 2016 Kanpur train derailment that claimed 152 lives. Suresh Prabhu, then Railway Minister, had pressed for a probe by the NIA, suspecting sabotage.
A senior government official told The Hindu that forensic reports ruled out the use of any explosive. Earlier, experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) had concluded that no explosive was found on the rail track.
“We will take a final decision soon. Since there are no suspects, we are not going to file any chargesheet,” the official said.
At a rally in Gonda on February 23, 2017, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the accident was the result of a “conspiracy” carried out by those across the border.
The Indore-Rajendranagar Express derailed near Kanpur on November 20, 2016. Over 40 people were killed when the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneshwar Express derailed near Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh on January 22, 2017.
‘It’s up to CRS’
The official said the investigation of the cause of the accident was in the domain of the Commissioner of Railway Safety. The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), an independent body under the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, investigates serious train accidents. As per norms, the CRS must submit its preliminary report to the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety and the Secretary of the Railway Board within a month of inquiry.
It must also make the report public.
Mr. Prabhu had alleged “sabotage” after Moti Paswan, arrested by the Bihar police in January 2017 for allegedly planting a pressure cooker bomb at Ghorasan in the State, said he had planted the bomb that derailed the Indore-Rajendranagar Express. However, when an NIA team questioned him, he said he just boasted. The Nepal police apprehended Braj Kishore Giri, Mojahir Ansari and Shambhu alias Laddu after an encounter in a double murder case. On the basis of their disclosure, Moti Paswan, Uma Shanker Patel and Mukesh Yadav were arrested by the Bihar police for planting the bomb at Ghorasan on October 1, 2016. The bomb was defused. Paswan told the police that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence was behind the derailment, and he planted a similar bomb near Kanpur. The Uttar Pradesh police denied any explosion had occurred on the track.
