NEW DELHI: More than a year after the Indore-Patna Express derailment in Kanpur killed 148 people, investigations have established there was 'no conspiracy' behind the incident. According to highly placed sources, IIT-Kanpur, approached by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to examine the reasons behind the derailment, has ruled out sabotage in its report.
The IIT-K experts have cited defects in the train's bogies and jamming of wheels as the reasons why the train derailed on November 20 last year, said sources.
"IIT-Kanpur engineers have given a detailed report in which they have stated that there weren't any major disruptions. Also, there is no evidence of any explosion on the tracks near Kanpur that day. This negates the terrorism conspiracy," said an officer on the condition of anonymity. "A team of IIT-Kanpur's R&D department had visited the spot at Pukhrayan, Kanpur; the condition of train bogies, the track etc were studied and, on the basis of technical analysis, the engineers have come to the conclusion that it was an accident, not a conspiracy," said the officer.
The NIA, which registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Railways Act, among other charges, in the matter, will now file a closure report.
The central anti-terror probe agency was roped in by the railway ministry to investigate the derailment amid suspicions that Pakistan's spy agency ISI may have used some terror outfit or contract killers to cause the derailment.
In fact, PM Modi, at a rally in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, had hinted at the role of Pakistan-backed players in the derailment.
Suspecting sabotage, the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu had written to home minister Rajnath Singh last year seeking an NIA probe into a series of train derailments across India.
The terrorism aspect was probed particularly after Bihar police caught some ISI-hired men in Motihari, including Motilal Paswan, who disclosed they planted explosives at the tracks near Ghorasahan on September 30, 2016. The IED had failed to explode. The NIA's investigations found that Pakistan and UAE-based ISI operatives, including one Shafi Chacha, had hired Nepalbased Shamshul Hoda to carry out a series of train derailments in India. The sleuths even questioned Hoda in Nepal about his role in the Kanpur derailment but, sources said, he was not responsible for it.
In fact, the ISI was unhappy that they couldn't carry out a derailment like the Indore-Patna Express' as part of their plan, according to the NIA chargesheet in the Ghorasahan terror conspiracy.
Other than the ISI and Pakistanbased terror groups, the NIA also investigated the role of India-based operatives of the so-called Islamic State, particularly the Kanpur-based Atif Muzzafar-led module. This module was behind the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in Madhya Pradesh on March 7 this year that injured 10 people. The NIA also investigated the role of Maoists in the Kanpur derailment, but evidence didn't support the theory.
The IIT-K experts have cited defects in the train's bogies and jamming of wheels as the reasons why the train derailed on November 20 last year, said sources.
"IIT-Kanpur engineers have given a detailed report in which they have stated that there weren't any major disruptions. Also, there is no evidence of any explosion on the tracks near Kanpur that day. This negates the terrorism conspiracy," said an officer on the condition of anonymity. "A team of IIT-Kanpur's R&D department had visited the spot at Pukhrayan, Kanpur; the condition of train bogies, the track etc were studied and, on the basis of technical analysis, the engineers have come to the conclusion that it was an accident, not a conspiracy," said the officer.
The NIA, which registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Railways Act, among other charges, in the matter, will now file a closure report.
The central anti-terror probe agency was roped in by the railway ministry to investigate the derailment amid suspicions that Pakistan's spy agency ISI may have used some terror outfit or contract killers to cause the derailment.
In fact, PM Modi, at a rally in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, had hinted at the role of Pakistan-backed players in the derailment.
Suspecting sabotage, the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu had written to home minister Rajnath Singh last year seeking an NIA probe into a series of train derailments across India.
The terrorism aspect was probed particularly after Bihar police caught some ISI-hired men in Motihari, including Motilal Paswan, who disclosed they planted explosives at the tracks near Ghorasahan on September 30, 2016. The IED had failed to explode. The NIA's investigations found that Pakistan and UAE-based ISI operatives, including one Shafi Chacha, had hired Nepalbased Shamshul Hoda to carry out a series of train derailments in India. The sleuths even questioned Hoda in Nepal about his role in the Kanpur derailment but, sources said, he was not responsible for it.
In fact, the ISI was unhappy that they couldn't carry out a derailment like the Indore-Patna Express' as part of their plan, according to the NIA chargesheet in the Ghorasahan terror conspiracy.
Other than the ISI and Pakistanbased terror groups, the NIA also investigated the role of India-based operatives of the so-called Islamic State, particularly the Kanpur-based Atif Muzzafar-led module. This module was behind the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in Madhya Pradesh on March 7 this year that injured 10 people. The NIA also investigated the role of Maoists in the Kanpur derailment, but evidence didn't support the theory.
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