Ministers suspect Maoist hand in Dibrugarh Express derailment

The derailment of the Dibrugarh Express in the Maoist affected area of Chhapra in Bihar, on the day of a bandh called by them, has raised suspicion over the cause of accident.

Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda, before heading for the accident spot, had said that the mishap seemed to be a case of Maoist sabotage. "Prima facie it is learnt that it is due to sabotage but as far as Rajdhani is concerned practically we don't have much news of accident but of course there was a bandh call given by Maoists so the cause is yet to be known," said Gowda.

Arunendra Kumar, Railway Board chief also said, "The train derailed at around 2.15 am, prima facie cause seems to be sabotage. Maoists had announced blockade on Wednesday.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy restrained from blaming the Maoists without any investigation. "Although it's a Maoist affected area and there was a bandh but right now it will not be accurate to say that they were involved," said Rudy.

At least four people were killed and eight others injured when the Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani express derailed this morning at around 2.15 am near Chhapra.

The Railway Minister had announced a compensation of Rs2 lakh for the deceased and Rs1 lakh for those who were injured.