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Was it sabotage?

Officials of the North-East Frontier Railway suspect sabotage behind Monday's head-on collision between the Avadh-Assam Express and the Brahmaputra Mail at Gaisal in which nearly 400 passengers were killed.

''It is difficult to imagine a train running on a wrong line for more than 17km and crossing three stations in between," a senior officer of the Indian Railway Service said.

"We do hope that the inquiry will give the true picture. We suspect sabotage. The signalman might be under some threat. Else, how could the train run on a wrong line crossing three stations without anybody noticing it?" he asked.

The Avadh-Assam Express and the Brahmputra Mail reached Gaisal station running on the wrong track after crossing Kishanganj and Panjipara.

"There can be human failure and one man can do it, but how can three stations make the same mistake? Now the signalmen have also fled. We suspect the signalman and wait to know under what condition he has given a series of wrong signals," said another officer.

The officials said that such an accident was a rarity on a double line. If it had happened on a single line track, it would have not been so strange, they said.

"We are waiting for ground reports to come in. Most of our colleagues are yet to return to Maligaon from the spot," said the officer.

Commenting on the allegation of the security forces that the railway authorities were trying to absolve their responsibility by blaming the extremists, the officials categorically said that they were only expressing their suspicion. The truth would surely out during the inquiry.

Meanwhile, about 100 injured passengers have been brought to Guwahati by the Bangalore-Guwahati Express.

UNI

RELATED REPORT:
Death toll crosses 400

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