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.

It is suspected that the Maoists had removed the fishplates on the track to target the train on the first day of their “Kala Saptah” (Black Week) starting from May 28.
This deliberate targeting of ordinary citizens appears to be the second phase of the Maoists’ warfare strategy. While the first phase was confined to remote tribal areas, in the second phase the insurgents intend to bring the war close to urban areas.
The train felt the first jerk at around 1.30 am. Two minutes later came the much deadlier jolt. Said the still-traumatised train driver: “I heard some sound which I thought was a blast. But I soon realised that the train was getting derailed. Though I applied the emergency brakes, the train continued to drag for another 150 metres. Finally it halted 50 metres off the 134/17 post. I was happy with myself as I thought that I had just averted a major accident. But two minutes later I realised I was mistaken.”
In two minutes, the goods train speeding from the opposite direction, despite the “red signal” shown by the Gyaneswari Express’ driver, rammed into the derailed passenger train between Khemasuli and Sardiha stations. “There was total chaos and complete darkness. I could only hear shrieks. It was only after some time, when my eyes got adjusted to the
darkness, that I realised how lucky I was to have survived,” recalled a horror-struck Chand Mohammad, one of the many passengers who managed to escape unhurt.
Others were not so lucky. For the ones who came out of the train hurt and broken, the first relief came in the form of the accident relief train that reached the spot around an hour and a half later. The injured were then rushed to the South Eastern Railway Hospital in Kharagpur and some other local facilities, while some were sent to hospitals in Kolkata. Two Indian Air Force planes which arrived shortly afterwards were used to airlift some of the injured to Kolkata.
Of all 13 coaches, passengers in the five coaches of the sleeper class (S-1 to S-5) were the worst off. The goods train engine had bumped into coaches five and six, smashing most of the passengers to death in their sleep. Some of them remained entangled in a death trap for hours, before the bodies could be extricated. Gas cutters were put into use later to free the bodies from the mangled mass of steel and iron. Disaster management teams of the Border Security Force, the Kolkata Police and NCC cadets were pressed into service. The stench of death hung in the air as bodies and body parts filled stretchers carried out by rescuers. With every passing hour, their work got tougher and the stench kept getting worse.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life,” said a local
businessman, Piyush Chandra, referring to the hands of dead people jutting out of the windows. “Perhaps they were expecting to get help that never reached,” said Mr Chandra, who has come from Kesiari village, 8 km from the site of the accident, in order to lend a helping hand.
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot, blamed the Maoists for the attack. “The Maoists deliberately planned the incident and triggered an explosion on the railway track as per the reports I received. The railways were on alert, specially after the Maoists called for ‘Black Days’ (May 28, 29, 30, 31). A patrolling engine had passed through the track an hour before this train passed. But the Maoists had timed their attack so that the derailment was followed by the approach of the goods train from the
opposite side,” claimed Ms Banerjee.
Contradicting her claims, however, West Bengal’s additional DGP (railways) Dilip Mitra, who is in charge of the Government Railway Police in the state, said there was no indication of a blast having taken place. “I do not see any sign of any blast. No evidence of any blast has been found,” Mr Mitra said. He also said he had no knowledge of any patrolling engine that had sensitised the track before the passing of the Gyaneswari Express. “I have no knowledge regarding that. The state CID has taken up the case. They will be in a better position to comment,” he said.
Earlier, confirming the Maoist angle, West Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh said: “We have strong reason to believe that the Maoists are behind this. We have even zeroed down upon the squad. But we are not releasing names for the sake of the investigation.”
The state police chief, however, categorically denied that there was any prior intelligence about Friday’s incident. “There was nothing specific,” he said. Fishplates were removed and over a foot of the railway track was missing.
The state CID has been entrusted with the investigation. DIG (CID) Anuj Sharma and CID special superintendent of police Vastab Baidya visited the spot later on Friday.
Referring to the perceived shift in the Maoists’ strategy, a senior police officer said that the insurgents, in their so-called “urban push”, would continue to target civilians. This had three major purposes: creating widespread panic and confusion in the administration; forcing the government to consider a compromise instead of launching large-scale anti-Maoist operations; and also forcing the government to focus on protecting civilians and urban targets.
Compensation of Rs 5 lakhs has been announced for each of the dead; and of Rs 3 lakhs for each of the seriously injured persons, the railway minister announced. She added that railway jobs would be given to one relative of each of the dead, particularly in cases where the victim was the family’s sole breadwinner.
In addition to this, the West Bengal government has announced compensation of Rs 3 lakhs for each of the dead. State finance minister Asim Dasgupta, who visited the site of the incident, said: “I have been asked by the chief minister to rush to the accident site with six special rescue teams and three mobile ambulances. The state will bear all the medical expenses.”
The railway minister further tried to deflect blame to the Left Front-run state government, pointing out that this was largely a “law and order problem” and should be dealt with by the state and Central governments. “The Union home ministry should investigate the matter,” she said.
State chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee made an unscheduled visit to West Midnapore later on Friday to take stock of the situation.
Rescue operations continued till late Friday night. Cranes were pressed into action and halogen lights were set up to facilitate the rescue work. Train services on the affected line were largely disrupted.
Following the Friday attack, the railway authorities announced that for the remainder of the Maoists’ “Black Week”, ending June 3, the departure timings of five trains leaving Howrah Station had been rescheduled and these would now leave only in the morning, so that they crossed the Maoist-affected region well within daylight hours. This had been done to ensure the safety of passengers, a South Eastern Railway spokesperson added.