Railway police arrest five in Rajdhani Express derailment case

GAYA - Railway Police arrested five persons on Friday, suspected to be Maoists, for their alleged role in the derailment of the Rajdhani Express in Bihar’s Gaya district.

The Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, a prestigious train of the country was derailed between Paraiya and Kastha railway stations in Gaya on March 22 and followed a blast triggered by the rebels.

As a result, eight coaches including the locomotive of the train were derailed.

“As per their (senior police officials) information, all the arrested men are Maoists. Acting on a tip off from hidden sources, our sleuths came to know about their activities. Following these clues, they raided the area and arrested them. And after their arrest, they have given a written confession and admitted to the crime that they had derailed the Rajdhani Express by causing a blast using cane bomb,” said Vijay Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Railway Police, Gaya.

However, Babri Yadav one of the arrested persons and detained at the Paraiya Police Station said that police inspectors asked him to sign on a written confession but he is innocent.

“How can we say that why police have arrested us? We had come here with our families, and police arrested us. We don’t know what was on the minds of policemen,” said Yadav.

Asked if they accept their crime, Yadav said: “This is not true. We did not give any written confession. We were just asked to give our signatures,” he added.

The Maoists say that they are fighting for the rights of the poor and marginal farmers and landless labourers.

The Maoist rebels have ignored repeated calls from the government to renounce violence and negotiate.

Instead, they have stepped up attacks in recent months, prompting the government to go after them in a concerted strike. (ANI)