Key accused in Jnaneswari derailment arrested, to be handed to

Kolkata/Jamshedpur, Jun 20 (PTI) A top activist of
the Maoist-backed PCPA who was named as one of the three key
accused in the May 28 Jnaneswari Express derailment was
arrested near Jamshedpur by a joint police team Sunday.
Bapi Mahto and his cousin Vimal Mahto who arranged for
his stay were arrested from Rai guest house at Adityapur, six
km from Jamshedpur, in Saraikela-Kharswan district of eastern
Indian state Jharkhand, SP Abhisekh Kumar said.
The team from West Bengal and Jharkhand received a
tip-off that Bapi was hiding near Jamshedpur.
The breakthrough came three days after the CBI named
Bapi and Umakant Mahto, senior People's Committee Against
Police Atrocities (PCPA) activists, and PCPA convenor Asit
Mahto as the main accused and announced a reward of Rs one
lakh each for information leading to their arrest.
During preliminary interrogation, Bapi admitted that
he was involved in the derailment which claimed 148 lives,
Jhargram SP Praveen Tripathi and Jamshedpur SSP Navin Kumar
Singh said.
Maoist spokesperson Akash, however, claimed that Bapi
was never a Maoist.
"He has tainted our image. We deny to take
responsibility for this disastrous accident. We don't kill
innocent people and don't keep any relation with these
people," Akash said from an undisclosed location.
On whether Umakanta and Asit Mahato are also in the
CBI reward list, he said, "People will save them".
A senior police official, who did not wished to be
named, told PTI that Bapi was discarded by the Maoists and
"had he been given shelter by the ultras, it would not have
been easy for the police to arrest him".
According to Tripathi, Vimal was arrested for
harbouring Bapi.
"Bapi, a resident of Rasua village, was in Midnapore
for 15 days after the derailment, but after CBI announced the
reward and his photographs were published, he went to
Jharkhand and took shelter in Bimal's house. On June 17, Bimal
booked a room in Rai guest house at Adityapur in his name," he
said.
The arrested were produced in the Chief Judicial
Magistrate's court in Saraikela-Kharswan district to procure
order for their transit remand, Tripathi said.
A CBI team reached Jamshedpur and once they were
brought to Jhargram, they would be handed over to CBI.
On Saturday, the CBI and West Bengal Police had
arrested Bholanath Mahato, believed to have been present when
the Mumbai-bound express train derailed killing 148 passengers
from Khemasuli area in Kharagpur, in eastern state West
Bengal.
On June 15, CBI arrested PCPA leader Hiralal Mahato
from Rasua village, who had used a van to ferry the saboteurs
to the railway tracks on May 27, hours before the disaster.
PTI SAG
RBT