Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday accused the Trinamool Congress of being behind the train accident in Odisha, reported ANI.
“Why have they been panicking so much since yesterday when this incident is of another state?” the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal asked. “Why are they afraid of CBI investigation?”
In one of the worst train accidents in India, 278 passengers died and more than 900 were injured after three trains collided into each other on June 2 in Balasore.
The Coromandel Express, which was travelling from Howrah to Chennai, collided with the goods train that was parked at the loop line near Odisha’s Balasore. The Coromandel Express had initially been given the green signal to enter the Up Main Line, but the signal was later taken off. Following this, the express train entered a loop line.
After this, two coaches of a third train, the Bengaluru-Howrah Express, which was headed towards Howrah also fell off the tracks after it came in contact with the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express.
A preliminary investigation by the Railways has suggested that a signalling error may have led to the accident. The incident is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
On Monday, Adhikari also referred to a purported audio clip of a conversation between two railway officials which Trinamool Congress General Secretary Kunal Ghosh had posted on Twitter on Monday. In his tweet, Ghosh wrote that the accident took place due to a major lapse. Scroll could not verify the authenticity of the purported audio clip.
On Monday, Adhikari alleged that the Trinamool Congress had tapped phones of railway officials.
“How did these people know about conversation between two railway officials?” he asked. “How the conversation got leaked? This should come in the CBI investigation. If it doesn’t come, I will go to court.”
Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi also alleged of a “meticulous conspiracy” behind the train accident.
“Now with more findings coming up, I am more than 100% sure that this crash was caused by sabotage and not a mere accident,” Trivedi, who had also served as Union Railways Minister, told News18. “To me, it seems like extensive planning and calculation leading to such incidents happening one after another in a matter of a few seconds.”
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