Sabotage caused Gyaneshwari train mishap, probe reveals
October 21st, 2010 - 5:46 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) A probe panel has confirmed that sabotage caused the May 28 mishap of the Gyaneshwari Express train that led to the deaths of 150 passengers and injuries to 157, the railway ministry said Thursday.
“The probe has revealed that the accident had occurred due to tampering of track, including removal of elastic rail clips and disturbance of cross level and alignment,” said the ministry, quoting from the statutory probe report.
“Accordingly, the cause of the accident is attributed to and classified as sabotage,” the ministry said.
The probe was conducted by Commissioner of Railway Safety S. Nayak of Kolkata-based South Eastern Circle of the Indian Railways.
To ensure impartiality in the probe, the commissioner of railway safety functioned under the ministry of civil aviation.
“The commissioner has sent his preliminary report to the central government,” said the railway ministry.
The 2102 Up Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak Terminal (Mumbai) Gyaneshwari Express had derailed between Khemsuli and Sardiha stations of Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of the South Eastern Railway May 28 at 1.17 a.m.
A goods train coming on a parallel track hit a few of the derailed coaches lying on it. This led to the deaths of 150 people, and 46 were grievously wounded, it said.
- Sabotage caused Gyaneshwari derailment: Minister - Jul 29, 2010
- Maoist sabotage threat hits Bengal train movements (Lead) - Jun 10, 2010
- Train tragedy toll 138, all bodies extricated (Roundup) - May 30, 2010
- Another possible train sabotage by Maoists foiled - Jun 10, 2010
- CBI arrests Gyaneshwari Express derailment case accused - Jun 15, 2010
- Jharkhand protesters block train movements - Sep 11, 2011
- Maoist blast derails train in West Bengal, 20 killed, over 150 injured - May 28, 2010
- Night ban on trains in Maoist areas lifted - Dec 23, 2011
- Train hits road roller, derails; passengers safe - Feb 27, 2011
- Special relief train for Gyaneshwari passengers - May 29, 2010
- West Bengal Police suspect Maoist hand behind train mishap - May 28, 2010
- Bomb scare disrupts train services in West Bengal - Sep 20, 2010
- West Bengal rules out CBI probe into train tragedy - May 31, 2010
- CBI sleuths visit Gyaneshwari Express accident spot - Jun 11, 2010
- Plan being drawn up for railway tracks' security - Jun 12, 2010
Tags: alignment, central government, civil aviation, deaths, express train, impartiality, indian railways, nayak, New Delhi, parallel track, preliminary report, railway safety, south eastern railway, train mishap