A Naxal-backed outfit, People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), has claimed responsibility for the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express train accident, said police.
The derailment led to the collision of the passenger train with a goods train and saw 67 passengers killed and over 200 injured early Friday, in a shocking attack against civilians by the extreme left-wing rebels.
"We have seen a few posters belonging to People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA). Two such posters have been found at the site only," said West Bengal Director General of Police ( DGP) Bhupinder Singh.
The DGP stated that preliminary reports are suggestive of the " opening of the pin reel clips which led to the sabotage at the tracks." A long stretch of the rail track was also found missing.
Singh added that before the Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express train got derailed, the driver of the train heard a loud explosion.
"There could have been a blast. But the train derailed primarily because of the missing fishplates and rail tracks," he quickly added.
Asked why it took so long for the police to reach the spot, Singh slipped into a defensive mode and asserted that "the help was rushed the moment the information was received by the police."
However, the police chief admitted that since Jhargram is an isolated area with a lot of Naxal influence, it did take police personnel and relief workers some time to reach the spot.
Surojit Karpurokayastha, Inspector General (IG) of Police (Law and Order), also said that "it prima facie appeared to be a case of sabotage."
"A large number of people were still trapped in the derailed bogies that have been hit by the goods train. A lot of effort is required to bring out these people," he added.
"The fishplates were certainly removed from the tracks," he said.
The official said that the "Maoist hand behind the blast is strongly suspected and the posters at the spot suggest that only."
Police earlier quoted posters, planted on the track, as saying: "We earlier demanded withdrawal of the joint security forces from Jangalmahal (West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) ..., but those demands were not met."
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