NIA has not found any sabotage in recent train derailments: Officials
In past two months, several cases have come to the fore wherein obstructions in the form of gas cylinders, boulders, or broken rails have been placed on tracks.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far not found any angle of sabotage in the recent accidents on railway tracks, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
The federal agency is probing at least four accidents as part of a preliminary enquiry (PE), they said, adding that the probe is still on.
An official who asked not to be named said on Friday, “We have so far not found any sabotage in the train derailment incidents but the probe is continuing. We are looking into four such accidents as part of a PE.”
In the past two months, several cases have come to the fore wherein obstructions in the form of gas cylinders, boulders, or broken rails have been placed on railway tracks with the intent to cause damage to trains or harm passengers.
Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said last month that the Indian Railways has sought the help of NIA to probe the accidents. “The railway administration has taken the matter very seriously. We are in constant touch with the state governments and their director generals of police, home secretaries. NIA has also been involved,” Vaishnav said on September 24.
On September 22, the driver of a goods train from Kanpur to Prayagraj spotted a gas cylinder on the track and managed to stop the train. On September 15, a damaged cylinder and a Molotov cocktail was found on a track that the Kalindi Express was to pass on.
The Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Kavarapettai in Tamil Nadu on October 12, injuring nine people.