100 injured as Assam train derails, separatists hand suspected

GUWAHATI - At least 100 people were injured, four of them critically, after a passenger train derailed in Assam Friday due to sabotage by suspected tribal separatists, an official said.

A railway spokesperson said the Murkokseleng Express from Rangiya in Assam was bound for Murkokseleng in the adjoining Arunachal Pradesh and derailed near Gohpur, about 260 km north of here.

The engine of the train and three other coaches derailed. There were about 300 passengers on board the train.

The prima facie cause of the accident was suspected sabotage as two rail joints and 12 metres of fish plates were missing, Northeat Frontier Railway spokesperson S. Hajong told IANS.

Police suspect the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to be behind the act. We believe the NDFB was behind the sabotage, a police officer said.

Most of those injured suffered cuts and bruises, while some sustained hand injuries as well.

Four critically injured people were shifted to Guwahati for advanced treatment, while many were released from hospitals after administering first-aid, Hajong said.

The area where the accident took place is a stronghold of the NDFB - a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Bodo tribe.