Sabotage or accident, let probe determine
Because it is far from clear what exactly led to the derailment of the Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express this past Wednesday which claimed the lives of four passengers, it is premature to assume that the accident was either a case of sabotage or human error or even a technical problem. One must wait for the official investigation to be completed. However, even the possibility that Maoists may have engineered the accident has given yet another cause for concern to train travellers, who had long since resigned themselves to the abysmal safety standards of Indian Railways. The sabotage angle was put in the public domain by Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar who said that there was prima facie evidence that the Maoists had caused the accident. His views were echoed by the manager of East Central Railway Zone's Sonepur division, Mr Rajesh Tiwari, who added that 17 Pandrol clips were missing and that there was a crater at the same spot. The clips keep the tracks in line with the sleepers. If removed, they are sure to derail the train, especially one moving at high speed. The sabotage theory has gained further currency after it was found that on June 24, Bihar Police had written to the local railway authorities to secure the rail tracks and bridges after the Maoists called a bandh. Even though specific patrolling of the area in which accident took place — near Golden Ganj railway station in Chapra, Bihar — was not requested, the letter pointed to a pre-existing threat perception. Add to that, the derailment of another goods train, about 60km from Golden Ganj station, due to a bomb blast the same day and it explains why the sabotage angle has been hard to dismiss.
However, while it is easy to be swayed by such reports and testimonies, it is also imperative to keep in mind that the investigation is still in the preliminary stages and there is simply not enough credible information at this stage to make an informed decision. This is the point that the Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh has also made in insisting that it is too early to blame the Red ultras. In fact, on the end of the spectrum, Chief Minister of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi has questioned the Maoist theory. According to him, there was neither any evidence of a bomb blast nor any proof that the tracks had been tinkered with. Saran's Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Singh has also confirmed that the clips were in place. Adding another dimension to this debate, some rail experts have pointed out that even if the Pandrol clips were removed as alleged, that does not necessarily point to Maoist mischief. The clips may have been taken by regular criminals to be sold in the scrap market. Similarly, there also different versions regarding the Bihar Police warning note. According to Mr Singh, his team had alerted the rail authorities, yet the latter had run no pilot trains. But Mr Tiwari at the rail office, disagrees. He say that only Government Railway Police were informed and that too for a different route.