Preliminary findings rule out subversive act in Kanpur, says Railway Commission

The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) has not found any evidence of sabotage in the November 20 derailment of the Indore-Rajendranagar Express.

The commission has identified ‘carriage and wagon defects’ as the prime reason for the accident which resulted in the most number of casualties in a train accident in over a decade.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the accident.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the possibility of sabotage in six train accidents, including the derailment of the Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express near Kanpur on November 20.

While the Bihar police claimed to have arrested a few people who could have been linked to the possible sabotage of the Indore-Rajendranagar Express, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Javeed Ahmed told The Hindu earlier this week that there was no evidence on the ground to corroborate the sabotage charge.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (Eastern Circle), P.K. Acharya, has submitted the preliminary report on the accident to Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety S. Nayak. The CRS is under the administrative control of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

“The report holds overaged coaches, carriage and wagon defects, and wheel alignment issues as the primary reasons behind the derailment. The report, however, does not suspect sabotage,” a CRS official said.

Wheel gauge variations

Four sleeper coaches of the Indore-Rajendranagar Express were badly damaged in the accident near Kanpur. The report mentions that there was a “huge” variation in the wheel gauge of the S1 and S2 coaches causing the derailment, according to the official.