Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday ruled out the chances of a possible Maoist hand in the derailment of Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express early in the morning in Chhapra.
He instead said that the incident appeared to have happened as a result of an "error" on the part of the Railways.
"Prima facie it does not appear to be the handiwork of Maoists in the Rajdhani derailment at Chapra," he told reporters.
He ruled out "sabotage" by Maoists as the cause behind the derailment of New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express.
"No trace of blast on the track or any other evidence suggesting sabotage has been found so far," he said.
Manjhi said he spoke to Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda about the incident and also drew his attention towards announcement of ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the dead whereas the standard practise is to pay Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia in such cases.
He questioned why a pilot engine was not run ahead of Rajdhani Express as per standard practise in the Maoists-hit region.
"The incident appears to be a result of error on the part of Railways," he said.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Manjhi announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of the dead. He also announced free medical treatment for the injured taken to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) from Chapra.
(With inputs from PTI)
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