ID :
124819
Fri, 05/28/2010 - 20:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/124819
The shortlink copeid
68 killed as Maoist attack Mumbai-bound train
Saibal Gupta
Jhargram (WB), May 28 (PTI) Sixty-eight passengers of
a Mumbai-bound express train were killed and 200 injured in a
Maoist attack here early Friday that derailed 13 coaches, five
of which were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite
direction.
Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police
Atrocities (PCPA) claimed responsibility for the derailment of
the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe
Express that occurred in eastern India's West Midnapore
district, about 150 kms from Kolkata.
Confusion prevailed over whether a bomb blast or an
act of sabotage by removal of fish plates led to the
derailment, in yet another Naxal attack targeting railways.
"PCPA has left two posters near the rail tracks
clearly owning responsibility for the derailment," IGP (Law
and Order) S Karpurakayastha told PTI in Kolkata. The posters
read, "We had demanded withdrawal of joint security forces
from Jangalmahal (West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura) and end
of CPI(M) atrocities. But those demands were not met".
The attack came as the Maoists observe a 'Black Week'.
The death toll in the tragedy was put at 68 by a
senior South Eastern Railway official here who also said over
200 passengers had sustained injuries. The official said the
bodies of the victims have been extricated.
Some passengers were believed to be still trapped
inside the mangled coaches, he said.
"The toll could go up," West Bengal Home Secretary
Samar Ghosh said.
The incident occurred at 1:30 am (local time) when the
train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations,
about 135 km from here, South Eastern Railway officials said.
Five of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent
track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite
direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram,
Mukesh Kumar said.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the
spot, said a "bomb blast" triggered by Maoists on the rail
track caused the derailment and that TNT explosives and
gelatine sticks were found at the accident site.
In New Delhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the
derailment appeared to be an act of sabotage but it was not
yet clear whether explosives were used to blast the tracks.
West Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh said, "It is a
sabotage. Whether it is a blast we are not sure about it.
Penbroll clips connecting the fish plates were found missing
along a 50-metre stretch in both the up and down lines. That
resulted in the accident".
Karpurokayastha said that according to preliminary
investigation, fish plates were found removed at the
derailment site.
President Pratibha Patil, who is in China, and Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief over the loss of lives
in the incident. The Prime Minister announced Rs two lakh to
the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the
injured.
Relief officials used gas cutters to extricate trapped
passengers and bodies from the mangled remains of the affected
coaches. Passengers belongings lay strewn scattered on the
tracks.
Angry passengers said the first signs of relief came
only around 5 am, three-and-a-half hours after the incident.
Member (Traffic) Railway Board Vivek Sahai said the
driver of the train heard a loud explosion after which the
train derailed. Railways are investigating if the tracks were
tampered with, he said.
Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service
at the accident spot to airlift some of the injured to the
hospitals.
The Railway Minister said a patrol engine had passed
through the area half an hour earlier, but the timing of the
blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown
away.
She announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next
of kin of each of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.
The West Bengal Home Secretary said that the over 200
injured have been shifted to different hospitals and the
condition of some of them is critical.
"Some of the critically injured people have been
brought to Kolkata for surgical treatment," he said, adding
that 30 of the bodies have been sent to various hospitals for
post-mortem.
South Eastern Railway spokesman Soumitra Majumdar said
the train had 24 coaches. After the explosion, 13 including 10
sleeper coaches, derailed of which five were hit by the goods
train coming on the opposite track.
An unreserved coach, the pantry car and luggage van
also derailed, he said.
Nine of the coaches which were not damaged in the
blast took the injured and the other passengers to Kharagpur
where they were admitted to hospital.
Anti-Maoist forces were at the spot and assisting the
police and rescue personnel in extricating the bodies from
four badly damaged sleeper coaches S-5, S-6, S-7 and S-8. PTI
SAG
RBT
Jhargram (WB), May 28 (PTI) Sixty-eight passengers of
a Mumbai-bound express train were killed and 200 injured in a
Maoist attack here early Friday that derailed 13 coaches, five
of which were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite
direction.
Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police
Atrocities (PCPA) claimed responsibility for the derailment of
the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe
Express that occurred in eastern India's West Midnapore
district, about 150 kms from Kolkata.
Confusion prevailed over whether a bomb blast or an
act of sabotage by removal of fish plates led to the
derailment, in yet another Naxal attack targeting railways.
"PCPA has left two posters near the rail tracks
clearly owning responsibility for the derailment," IGP (Law
and Order) S Karpurakayastha told PTI in Kolkata. The posters
read, "We had demanded withdrawal of joint security forces
from Jangalmahal (West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura) and end
of CPI(M) atrocities. But those demands were not met".
The attack came as the Maoists observe a 'Black Week'.
The death toll in the tragedy was put at 68 by a
senior South Eastern Railway official here who also said over
200 passengers had sustained injuries. The official said the
bodies of the victims have been extricated.
Some passengers were believed to be still trapped
inside the mangled coaches, he said.
"The toll could go up," West Bengal Home Secretary
Samar Ghosh said.
The incident occurred at 1:30 am (local time) when the
train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations,
about 135 km from here, South Eastern Railway officials said.
Five of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent
track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite
direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram,
Mukesh Kumar said.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the
spot, said a "bomb blast" triggered by Maoists on the rail
track caused the derailment and that TNT explosives and
gelatine sticks were found at the accident site.
In New Delhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the
derailment appeared to be an act of sabotage but it was not
yet clear whether explosives were used to blast the tracks.
West Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh said, "It is a
sabotage. Whether it is a blast we are not sure about it.
Penbroll clips connecting the fish plates were found missing
along a 50-metre stretch in both the up and down lines. That
resulted in the accident".
Karpurokayastha said that according to preliminary
investigation, fish plates were found removed at the
derailment site.
President Pratibha Patil, who is in China, and Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief over the loss of lives
in the incident. The Prime Minister announced Rs two lakh to
the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the
injured.
Relief officials used gas cutters to extricate trapped
passengers and bodies from the mangled remains of the affected
coaches. Passengers belongings lay strewn scattered on the
tracks.
Angry passengers said the first signs of relief came
only around 5 am, three-and-a-half hours after the incident.
Member (Traffic) Railway Board Vivek Sahai said the
driver of the train heard a loud explosion after which the
train derailed. Railways are investigating if the tracks were
tampered with, he said.
Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service
at the accident spot to airlift some of the injured to the
hospitals.
The Railway Minister said a patrol engine had passed
through the area half an hour earlier, but the timing of the
blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown
away.
She announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next
of kin of each of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.
The West Bengal Home Secretary said that the over 200
injured have been shifted to different hospitals and the
condition of some of them is critical.
"Some of the critically injured people have been
brought to Kolkata for surgical treatment," he said, adding
that 30 of the bodies have been sent to various hospitals for
post-mortem.
South Eastern Railway spokesman Soumitra Majumdar said
the train had 24 coaches. After the explosion, 13 including 10
sleeper coaches, derailed of which five were hit by the goods
train coming on the opposite track.
An unreserved coach, the pantry car and luggage van
also derailed, he said.
Nine of the coaches which were not damaged in the
blast took the injured and the other passengers to Kharagpur
where they were admitted to hospital.
Anti-Maoist forces were at the spot and assisting the
police and rescue personnel in extricating the bodies from
four badly damaged sleeper coaches S-5, S-6, S-7 and S-8. PTI
SAG
RBT
