Preliminary probe into Monday's train mishap has indicated that Uttarbanga Express was moving at a speed of over 60 km per hour, nearly 40 km per hour more than the limit, and overshot the signal resulting in the fatal incident.
Two days after Monday's train disaster at Sainthia in Birbhum district, the cause of the collision that snuffed out 66 lives still remains a riddle.
The driver of the Uttarbanga Express was alerted by the station master that a train was already there on the tracks but he violated the red signal, Rehmat Ali, the signal in-charge of the Sainthia station where the deadly collision took place said on Tuesday.
A speeding express train rammed into the rear of another killing 60 people and injuring over 150 at the Sainthia station in Bhirbhum district of West Bengal, apparently after overshooting the signal in the early hours on Monday.
Union Minister of Railways Mamta Bannerjee, who is extremely perturbed by the disastrous train mishap in West Bengal early on Monday morning, has asked her ministry to carefully oversee the postmortem of M C Dey, the driver of the New Coochbehar-Sealdah Uttarbanga Express, which rammed into Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express in Sainthia station of Birbhum district, killing 62 people and injuring 92 others.
Heavy-duty gas cutters were being brought from Panagarh to extricate people trapped in the mangled coaches of the Vananchal Express which was hit in the rear by the Uttarbanga Express early on Monday morning at the Sainthia station.
They have been working tirelessly but silently since the Uttarbanga Express crashed into the Vananchal Express at the Sainthia station in Birbhum district, ferrying the injured, donating blood and helping out in the morgue.
"We have some doubts in our mind. Whatever has happened is not a casual thing. We will take strong steps against those who are behind this," she said.
"Nothing can be ruled out. It may be possible that our equipment might have been tampered with. It will be known only after inquiry)," Eastern Railways General Manager V N Tripathy told PTI.
A breathalyser test on the driver and assistant driver of the ill-fated Uttarbanga Express did not show any trace of alcohol but police said this is not enough to determine whether they were intoxicated or not.
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