On the eve of the crucial civic polls in West Bengal slated for Sunday, the Gyaneswari Express disaster in the West Midnapore district of the state had taken on increasingly political hues. While railway minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee sought a CBI probe into the disaster, Mr Sitaram Yechury, whose CPI(M) is the Trinamul’s arch rival in West Bengal, wondered why the CBI should be called in when the state CID is investigating the incident.
Amidst this battle of one-upmanship among two bitter political rivals readying for the 2001 Assembly polls in the state, there were indications from the Union home ministry on Saturday that it may ask the CBI to probe the incident that claimed over 131 lives.
While Ms Banerjee’s ministry has already written to the home ministry seeking a CBI investigation, a top government official said on Saturday: “We may order a CBI inquiry into the incident following the railway ministry’s request.” This is likely to evoke the wrath of the CPI(M), which accused the Trinamul chief of trying to “cover up” the lapses of her ministry and shielding the “actual culprits” by suggesting that Maoists may not be behind the sabotage.
Accusing the Trinamul of trying to politicise the “tragedy” on the eve of the municipality elections in West Bengal, Mr Yechury said that certain elements are cynically using the situation to further their petty partisan interests. “All this is being done in order to influence public opinion on the eve of the municipality elections in West Bengal,” he said. MHA sources, however, said that a CBI inquiry is required to probe the conspiracy behind the train “sabotage”. “We feel that the CBI can conduct a thorough investigation as it has sufficient expertise and infrastructure to do it,” the sources said.
They said that since the railways is a Central government establishment, there should not be any legal infirmity in CBI taking up the investigation.
Ministry sources said prima facie the probe indicated involvement of Maoists, who have a strong presence in the area, besides several leaflets of Maoists-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) being found near the mishap site.