West Bengal agrees to CBI probe into train disaster
By IANSWednesday, June 2, 2010
NEW DELHI - The West Bengal government has agreed to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the derailment of Gyaneshwari Express near Jhargram in Midnapore district that killed around 160 people May 28, union home ministry officials said Wednesday.
The West Bengal government Monday had rejected Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s demand for a CBI probe into the accident that also left over 200 injured.
The home ministry officials said that while agreeing to investigation by the CBI, West Bengal has sought that the probe team should include the state’s Crime Investigation Department and Railway Protection Force personnel.
Banerjee demanded that the central investigative agency should probe the “political conspiracy” behind the derailment, which the central and state governments termed as the handiwork of Maoists.
The Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express from Howrah derailed around 1.30 a.m. with some of its coaches tumbling over adjoining tracks. Within minutes, a freight train rammed into derailed coaches, raising the number of fatalities.
