Railway authorities and police were investigating whether the first accident was caused by sabotage by Naxal rebels. At about 2 am, 12 carriages of the Rajdhani Express toppled over near the Chapra station, 75 kilometres from the state capital of Patna
"Prima facie, it appears to be a case of sabotage," "There was a blast on the track, which could have caused the derailment." Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar told
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a BJP law-maker from Chapra, said there were about 500 passengers on the train. Officials acknowledged that a mandatory precaution had been ignored. In areas where the Naxals are active, popular passenger trains like Shatabdi and the Rajdhani Express are meant to be preceded by "a pilot engine" which checks that the tracks are safe.
For the train that derailed, this security check was not conducted. "We can't escort every train," said Madhuresh Kumar, General Manager, East Central Railway.
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