One more person was arrested in the Gyaneswari Express derailment case. The state CID on Tuesday arrested People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) leader Sameer Mahato, who is a key accused in the case. Sameer, a very close associate of rebel leader Bapi Mahato, is believed to have played a vital part right from the planning stage till the execution of the plan that caused the death of 148 persons.

The police could actually hear the hammers banging on the steel tracks and voices happily reporting the “progress” of their “operation” to their seniors over the cell phone.

A fresh lease of life spread across the twin tracks in Sardiha as trains started plying on them, two days after they were made to witness unprecedented loss of life and property. With the remains of the ripped coaches sans any life lying along the tracks, the scarred memories however, are there to stay for some more time.
“The restoration work of both the affected tracks has been completed. At first, we passed a goods train through the UP line at 6.10 am.

The toll in Frid-ay’s train derailment rose to 145 as bodies continued to be extracted on Saturday. The stench of rotting flesh and the scorching sun overhead only added to the woes of the rescue teams.

At least 81 passengers of the Mumbai-bound Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneswari Super Deluxe Express died after 13 coaches of the train got derailed and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction in the early hours of Friday morning. Another 145 persons were injured in the accident, which took place near Kalaikunda station in West Midnapore district, close to Kharagpur, one of the most Maoist-infested areas of West Bengal.

Maoists were gathering nearby. There was an apprehension. And it took shape. The district police officials sat duck on the intel report poured in from the state intelligence department on Thursday evening.

A high-intensity blast triggered by Maoists killed five CRPF personnel, including an officer of the rank of deputy commandant, near Lalgarh in West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Wednesday. Another CRPF man was severely injured.