‘Sabotage possible,driver’s action unusual’

Sahay told reporters after a visit to the accident site that the action of the driver and assistant driver was very “unusual and doubtful”. They ran the train at nearly 90 km per hour ignoring the home signal which was red. Sahay expressed doubts on the condition of both while they ran the train. He said M C Dey was an ‘A’ category driver,a distinction held by only 15-20 per cent of the railway drivers.

According to Sahay,Uttarbanga Express was stopped at Gadadharpur station around 1.50 am because of the Vananchal Express,which was running more than four hours late on the same track. Uttarbanga left Gadadharpur station at 1.56 am for Sainthia,7.19 km away. The train crossed a bridge at 90 km per hour when it should not have been more than 30 km per hour,Sahay said. This bridge is only 1.7 km from Sainthia so the driver should have controlled the speed,he added.

Sahay said the bodies of the driver and assistant driver were found in a sitting condition,indicating they made no effort to save themselves. Things would be clear after post-mortem reports,he added. According to Sahay,there was no mechanical fault in the engine as it halted at Gadadharpur station without any trouble.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety would probe the mishap but assistance from other agencies might also be taken,Sahay hinted,adding that sabotage caused five accidents this year.